Tiny Choices Survey: Ginger!
By tinychoices | July 11, 2008
Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?
Ginger, 60, Australia,
How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)?
In a 3-bedroom town house with small courtyard (in which I grow fruit trees, grape vines and herbs). I live on my own; children now age 30 and 20.
Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Necessity and choice. This is government owned and maintained housing (well-built and attractive, in a lovely area, very convenient to resources, good neighbours, low crime) so I only pay 1/4 of my pension as rent (same rate for everyone, regardless of income). I’ve lived in almost all types of accommodation (private rentals, shared houses, family homes, buying own house, flats, mansions, nomadic life in a camper, etc) and I like this place best.
How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I have an old LPG-run car (liquid petroleum gas) which is very cheap to run (about $15 p.w.) and less polluting than petrol (gasoline). Public transport rarely seems to go the places I need to go and my arthritis prevents me from walking far. I only go out about 3 times per week, mostly short journeys, and I always combine errands to minimise this.
Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
I’ve always been a saver, scrounger, re-user. This comes naturally to me, not a burden. I HATE waste! My kids were the best dressed (but always in secondhand clothes from charity shops) and had the most toys at Xmas (again, collecting amazing used bargains throughout the year). I’ve rarely bought new things for myself or the house (clothes, appliances, furniture, vehicles). Used stuff is often better quality than the cheap discount things in shops, with far more variety, but takes more effort to search for the treasures.
What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
My family is spread around the world and occasional visits would be hard to live without. I’d love to have the income to buy meaningful and effective carbon offsets for every trip.
What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
I changed over to 100% renewable energy a few years ago, as I was so surprised how cheap it was (only an extra $2.50 p.w. for me) and if I’d known I could afford it, I would have changed years before that. I believe many people live in areas where an electricity supplier offers this scheme. Even though my power comes from the same wires as everyone else’s in my street, my electricity supplier is forced to buy extra renewable energy (wind, solar, etc) to offset what I use. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all did this and the coal power stations became obsolete?
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you make that people question (in either a positive educational or a negative hassle way) you the most about?
I have recently become a vegan. After trying many different kinds of diets (to lose weight and be healthier) I read The China Study and realised that the strongest scientific evidence (I’m not interested in theories) supports a diet with very low or no consumption of animal-based foods. The media doesn’t tell you much about this but animal protein (such as in cow’s milk) can cause cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases. And becoming vegan not only protects you but can reverse any tumours you are already growing! After decades as an avid meat/fish/dairy eater, I’m amazed at how easy it is to convert to a plant-based diet. So much more variety and tastiness than I expected. I am preparing myself to quietly educated others (mostly by example) because a vegan diet also is a powerful fighter against global warming.
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
To cure themselves of “affluenza”, be aware of the impact of their personal choices, actively seek out better ways of living, share their knowledge with others, and use the tools of democracy to change destructive policies.
Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
“Sacrifices” are all in the mind. When you lose one thing, you gain another. Like giving up smoking, you gain health and wealth. You might think you can’t do without your chocolate donuts or junk food, but you gain so much else when you eat a wholesome diet. It’s all about getting your priorities right and realising the hidden costs of unwise choices (just bad habits, really).
Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
I am very pessimistic about the near future, let alone the distant one! Anyone who listens to the vast majority of reputable climate scientists would come to the same conclusion. Things are changing much faster than anyone predicted and many of the changes are locked in no matter what we do. HOWEVER, I am optimistic that we can prevent some of the worse damage if we all wake up now and make major changes in the way our economies are run. The Limits to Growth was written back in the 1960s and is now proven to be mostly right. We all have to be on a war-footing (like WW1 and WW2 — not Iraqi War) and treat this issue as a priority over everything else. The consequences of dragging our feet is that most species, including humans, will become extinct. No one’s sure when this will happen, but the signs are there that it will be much sooner than we think.
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great survey ginger!