Hello, my name is Molly (this is not a picture of me) and I’m a news junky. For those who don’t spend the majority of their days mesmerized by the internet, this means I know way too much about way too many things. Which indirectly means, I’m scared shit-less 24/7. At the moment, I’m petrified to fly – if I’m going to be felt up, it’s by someone of my own choosing.
This fear thing isn’t new for me. Just more constant since the internet has become a BFF. Years ago for instance, when tap water was thought to be the spawn of the devil, I guzzled bottle water thinking I found the fountain of youth. Then, someone reported that plastics in the bottles would reek havoc on my liver and other relatively important body parts, so reluctantly I returned to the tap; crossing my self, religious-style whenever I took a sip.
When I learned farmers were willy-nilly spraying everything they grew with pesticides, I got scared again, this time jumping on the organic wagon. Overall, this was a good decision. However, should my choice have been made based upon the media hype or my own common sense?
As a nation, we’re bombarded with fear: From detergents with phosphates, formaldehyde in wood, freon in air-conditioners…, just recently, bisphenol-A (BPA) in store receipts.
Store receipts! So does this mean all shopping must be avoided? Maybe I should wear gloves at the register? Or wrap myself in cellophane – no wait, that’s going from the frying pan into the fire.
It’s not that we shouldn’t fear. All of these things and more should send up red flags, but not in a sensational, journalistic way that causes unrealistic terror. But because these activities or items can and do pollute and destroy our homes, ruin our environment and potentially undermine our health.
Here are some things all us news junkies need to remember:
1. Making greener changes isn’t something you should do out of fear, but rather out of hope. Hope for your future, that of others and the planet overall.
2. Some things that are bascially okie dokie now, might prove harmful down the road. Running through the “smoke” behind the mosquito fog trucks in my youth, great fun then – bad idea now.
3. For the most part it’s up to us individually to make reasonable decisions based upon the knowledge that we have and what our gut tells us. Overall, scientists researching the good, the bad and the ugly truths about how different things affect us and our planet are doing pretty much the same thing. So additionally, stop playing the blame game.
4. Fear shouldn’t be a deterrent in our lives, but a reminder. A niggling, poking ah-ah that causes us to think more carefully about how we look at resources, spend our money and ultimately how we take care of the earth.
Personally, I hope I can take my own advice. Besides, I can’t avoid the store anymore than I can avoid breathing. It’s a given….
Then again, when it comes to flying…
greenupforlife 