Raising kids can teach you a lot — while you are teaching them. A dinner table conversation 40 years ago with my 5-year-old went something like this:
Kid: “Daddy, did you know you are a hypocrite?”
Me: “In what way, sweetie?”
Kid: “You make us wear a bike helmet, but you don’t wear one, so you’re a hypocrite!!”
She had a good point. I ALWAYS wear my helmet now, but I am still a hypocrite; most of us are. My focus (obsession) on following the most sustainable practices is a guiding principle of my daily life, but I am not perfect — far from it.
If you are perfect, you can stop reading this now. But for the handful of folks who are aiming for 100% sustainable, and coming up at 90%, 50%, or even 10%, I have good news, questions, and ideas.
Start with a pat on the back — eating less meat, driving less, and turning off unneeded lights most of the time sets you on the path to perfection, and shows you how easy it is to improve. If you start with two meatless nights, the route to more is pretty obvious. (Lentils and tofu and beans oh my! Lentils and tofu and beans oh my! See, you’re up to six nights already!)
Because I am a Master Recycler (and zealot), when I make casual observations (okay, harsh judgments) at a potluck about using paper plates instead of regular dishes*, I will sometimes (okay, always) get asked “Are you perfect?” If you started reading this at the beginning, you already know I’m not (so do they). Since you’ve heard this before, I will just say this once: “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
But an important part of your path toward perfection is knowing what you can do in your life to have the greatest impact. Learning those optimal steps can be confusing and surprising. Recycling is a good idea, for example, but it doesn’t have the climate impact many would expect. Wind farms can have a huge impact, but you are unlikely to build one. I have learned a lot — through taking Lane County Waste Management’s Sustainable Citizens course and from the organization Project Drawdown — about our largest emission sources and therefore which actions are most effective.**
I’ll give you a few big easies.
- Don’t waste food. What some people call “expiration” dates are largely unscientific dates designed to get you to buy a new can. They are not “safe/unsafe to eat” dates. California has banned “best if used by” and “sell by” labels, but has retained safety labels on products such as meat. If a can has large dents (greater than a half-inch) or is rusty, bloated, or leaking, don’t eat it. If it smells or tastes bad, don’t eat it. Some foods will slowly lose taste, but a can of soup is never fine on 08/08/2026 and inedible on 08/09/2026.
Eat or freeze leftovers from home or restaurants right away so you have no doubts. And get seconds rather than overloading your plate and throwing out what you could not eat. Have a poor sense of smell or taste? Just ask my super-taster wife about the food.
- Eat a plant-rich diet. The impacts of meat and dairy go far beyond the cow farts and manure ponds. Globally, 80% of agricultural land is used to grow and feed livestock. Half the water diverted from the Colorado River is used to grow animal feed. Cut back on meat and we can let those acres grow forests, and let that water flow freely.
- There are so many big and little places where you can act, and so many that may surprise, or educate, you. Using Zoom rather than driving to a meeting has more (just) impact than recycling paper. Doing both is better. Getting a smart thermostat for your home is about as impactful as getting an electric car, although our hydropower-rich energy stream means the impact is less here than in New York.*** Switching to LED lighting can save more electricity than all the off-shore wind-generators in the world.
“So choose wisely on the road to perfection, grasshopper. The choices you make can be the change we need.”****
* It takes 100 times more water, much of which is hot water, to make a paper plate than to wash an existing plate.
** Here is the link to the list of societal impacts causing climate change. Look, be surprised, and act: drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions
*** I note that some places burn fossil fuels to make electricity. We get ours by killing salmon.
**** Grasshopper or cricket protein is better than beef and provides more nutrients. You can buy cricket powder on the internet to supplement your meals. No I don’t do this — yet. My status as a hypocrite remains.
