dash

Everybody here knows me I guess as “Dash the eco-warrior.  I suppose that is reasonable, as I do spend most of my time these days as an armed fighter in battles that have a positive effect on the struggle to create a society with a sustainable ecological future.

People think I’m an environmental hard-ass, just because I push people a lot to “do the right thing” as far as living in sustainable harmony with the planet.  But, it’s not nearly as easy for me to always “do the right thing” as people might suspect.

This hard-ass persona is not who I always was.  Many things I do differently now, as an eco-warrior.  For example, I don’t usually buy new clothes any more. I now buy everything I need used, even underwear.  As long as it’s been washed well, what do I care if someone else has worn it?  I did splurge on some brand new socks a while back, but those had been hand made by an artisan, not a factory.

I also prefer to eat locally produced food now, and I eat way less dairy.  I loved cheese, and cream in my coffee, but now, knowing what I know, I don’t think it’s right for me, as I am trying to be responsible as much as I can.

Another big change in my diet has been the lack of red meat. I used to love eating steak, and I don’t have any qualms about killing animals and eating them.  I helped kill and butcher steers and chickens the times I visited the Wilson farm in Saskatchewan, and I even once helped with butchering a pig.  But now I know that the cost in atmospheric carbon production in raising a steer is really quite high.  Irresponsibly high. So, now I don’t eat much red meat.  But truth be told, I wouldn’t mind sinking my teeth into a juicy T-bone steak again some day.

But my biggest lifestyle change has been showering much less now, or in fact, not at all.  I grew up showering a number of times every day.  First off, I cannot deny the pain I experience by not continuing the shower routine I followed all through high school.  Back in those days I was completely ignorant about how harmful this practice is to the environment, and I showered at least twice a day every day.  I’d often add another shower if I was going out someplace special, or if it was an uncomfortably hot or cold day.   I had my own shower in my bathroom at home. And I had the rack on one side full of a dizzying variety of different shampoos, balsam treatments, and other creams, soaps, and essential oil products.

And I wasn’t taking quick showers.  No, I could easily spend fifteen minutes or more luxuriating in my little private spa.  I had always at least four bathrobes, and I’d wash each bathrobe and each towel after every use.  That also added a huge amount to the size of my eco-ignorant carbon footprint.

These days I have a one-liter body cleansing routine that I try to do after every mission.  So, I may use up to three liters of water per day for personal hygiene, and then I take all of that to the garden where I use it to water a few vegetables.  But I’ve still never forgotten the luxury of a half-hour shower with nice hot water.

Last I suppose is my personal transportation.  ****I’ve given up my prized car, which was an old 1966 Thunderbird, over 75 years old, that I inherited from my grandfather.  He was a car nut mechanic and he completely rebuilt the Thunderbird and he gave it to me on my 16th birthday when I got my driver’s license.  I drove that car to school every-day for the last two years of  high school and remember quite well how I felt like a goddess zipping around stylishly on the streets of our town.  I think there is something sensual and emotional about a big old piece of machinery that still runs well.  But I ended up selling the Thunderbird during my second year in college and donating the proceeds to Tree Genes, an organization that works to maintain the genetic diversity of our forests.  I loved driving that car, with the top down in the summer it was heaven.  Then I got a 2034 Bigsby Electric, and I still have that here at the UltraHorse compound and the lab scientists say they’ll get around to converting it to a hybrid battery/ Erythrium system.

So I’ve changed what I do in my daily life today, but I haven’t forgotten those old pleasures, and I will admit that I sometimes get lost in daydreams about how pleasant life was for me in those old irresponsible times.