Tiny Choices Survey: Erin!
By Jenn | June 12, 2009
Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?
Erin, 23, Aurora CO, ceramicerin.com
How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)?
In a townhouse w/ my boyfriend & 2 roommates
Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Mainly necessity… if I could choose, my boyfriend & I would be living in a small house close to downtown Denver in a friendly, safe neighborhood rather than in the ‘burbs of Aurora. We live here because rent is cheap.
How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I share a car w/ my bf, though it’s mainly his, so I take the bus or ride my bike when I need to. Two years ago I traded my car for a bicycle at New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat and agreed to live car-free for one year. At this point there are days I wish I had my own car, but the expense is probably not worth it. I also chose a part-time job just a few blocks away from my house so I don’t need to
drive.
Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
I bring my own bag for groceries, and I also bought some reusable produce bags this month. They’re lightweight, mesh, washable bags from 3B.
What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
I struggle with biking. I think if I lived in a bike-friendly city like Fort Collins it would be easier, but the city I just moved from and where I am now are more challenging to get around in. It doesn’t help that I’m not trusting enough to leave my bike just anywhere either. These are excuses though… Once in a while someone asks if I’ve been riding lately and that motivates me to bike more.
What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
I can encourage more people to bike and ask the city to create bike lanes to help make it a safer place for commuter cyclists.
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’m a vegetarian and people are always giving me a hard time about it. I’m always asked if I eat this or that - fish, chicken, dairy, eggs? - and why I am a vegetarian. Some people tell me I should eat meat, it
would solve this or that problem (most of them joking - a meat-cutting friend told me today I should start eating meat because it would stop my hiccups!) Sometimes people question me about the nutritional value of it - where I get protein, for example - which I appreciate because I feel I can educate them somewhat.
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
I would like everyone to become a vegetarian because it takes more resources to feed people meat than it does to feed them vegetarian diets. I’m also tired of the slim choices I have at most popular
restaurants.
Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
A little bit. It would be easy for me to throw away all the packaging that I use, but instead I save up all the recyclables for a few weeks and drive 6 miles to take it to the free recycling center. So I feel I’m sacrificing some time and space to recycle, but I would feel guilty throwing it all away.
Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
Neutral… I see that people are starting to take action, but there are still a lot of people who are ignorant or just don’t care, so I’m on the fence.
Related posts:
- Tiny Choices Survey: Bridget!
- Tiny Choices Survey: Birdie
- Tiny Choices Survey: Jennifer Floyd
- Tiny Choices Survey: Christie Arlotta
- Tiny Choices Survey: It’s Your Turn!
- Tiny Choices Survey: It’s Your Turn!
- Tiny Choices Survey: It’s Your Turn!
Topics: Surveys |
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