Comments on: Grist-picked, but still ticked!

By: Marta

Marta — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:00:22 +0000

Katharine!
Why are you implying that using reusable products means a lot of trouble and costs a lot of money?
It seems to me that you have never tried them yourself!
I say that because if you had tried, you would have experienced how convenient and money-saving it is to use reusable products.
Next time, please consider trying things out before writing about them!

By: Katharine

Katharine — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:12:30 +0000

Morgan, definitely a good point. I’d just quickly add that the steps I mentioned — making your home energy efficient, for instance — can be undertaken by anyone. And the beauty of them is that they’ll almost always save you money on energy bills, etc. Umbra gets a lot of letters from renters, and has given advice on, for instance, how to insulate windows or adapt high-flow toilets in simple ways that save money. So it’s not about sinking big bucks into something — just thinking about your impact on all levels.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:49:09 +0000

Yes! Thank you so much for this. The issue of re-usable menstrual products and cloth diapers are really one and the same. Using the reusable products requires so little effort, yet the impact is so huge and important. Thank you, thank you, for all you do!

By: Morgan

Morgan — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:42:30 +0000

While I agree that the efforts we need to undertake in order to make a real difference go beyond “paper versus plastic” I can’t understand why anyone would ever try to undermine the importance of the smaller steps by telling people that they won’t make a difference in the bigger picture. By telling people that the only way to contribute is by buying new appliances, renovating their home and buying a new vehicle, you end up disenfranchising a HUGE group of people who can’t afford to do any of that. People who live in rental housing have no control over the appliances that they use or the renovations that take place in their building. Taking care of our environment is not solely the responsibility of the rich and belittling the “smaller” efforts of the rest of us is not in the best interest of the planet.
The fact is that when people making small changes they inevitably lead to more and larger changes until you do have a big picture effect.

By: Katharine

Katharine — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:52:20 +0000

Lovely ladies of Luna -– I’m an editor at Grist, and wanted to thank you for the mention. At Grist, we believe as strongly as you do that individuals can make a real difference — whether it’s by supporting conscientious companies like yours, shopping for local and organic food, or changing that apocryphal light bulb. But we also strongly believe that the climate crisis cannot be solved through consumption choices alone.

That is the underlying theme of Umbra Fisk’s message: that focusing exclusively on “paper versus plastic” questions (or, in the case of diapers and sanitary products, disposable versus reusable) allows people to lose sight of the even bigger impacts we can all have –- things like making our homes energy efficient, driving less, flying less, and pushing for political change.

This doesn’t mean anyone should ignore the so-called small steps. It just means there’s a need for steps both big and small. If we are going to tackle the climate crisis, we need to be willing to do both. (Check out Umbra’s list of personal actions that make a real difference.)

Thanks for all that you do to get the word out about the importance of these issues!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:27:44 +0000

Once again, if we don’t do our parts, individually, how can we begin to make a difference globally? No act is too small when it comes to saving this planet for future generations!

By: jadekitty

jadekitty — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:52:26 +0000

Wow, I am very much with you on this whole issue. My niece who just turned one is very sensitive to disposable diapers, and my sister has used cloth, for that reason plus the cost factor as a young parent.