Confessing Environmental Sins

I have a confession to make.  I have committed environmental sins.  Even though most have been accidental sins of omission, paying closer attention would likely have avoided many of them.  Some make me feel especially regretful because I can't take them back or correct them.

• Accidental Litter – Last fall, I came across a small plastic plant container that flower seedlings had been in.  At first I was irritated that someone had left this wash into the drainage swale.  Then I realized that it was from my own garden.  I had set it with a few other odds and ends next to the garage with the intention of cleaning it out and reusing it, but it blew across the yard and ended up as a classic piece of accidental litter.
• Wasting Water – Though we are blessed with abundant water here in Central Pennsylvania, conserving water still saves money and makes sense environmentally.  Though I usually do common sense things like shutting off the water when brushing, I still let my shower run too long while waiting to warm up and frequently let the hose on when I'm not using it.  (Hoses almost always drip a bit if you don't turn them off at the spigot.)
• Unnecessary Electric Usage – With the exception of some fluorescent fixtures, lights should be turned off when we leave a room.  Take note of how many times you walk back into a room to find the lights already on.  You'll be surprised how often you leave on lights when you didn't need to.  Though I commit this sin infrequently, I carelessly let a light on once or twice a week.
• Eating Food From Far Away Places – For many reasons, it's difficult to eat locally grown food.  It's sometimes hard to find and fresh food takes a bit longer to prepare.  For the sake of convenience, frozen food and fast food often finds its way to our table.  While I know my vegetarian diet has less of an impact on the planet than a heavy meat diet, I'm far from the environmentally perfect eater.
• Wasting Food – When we wasted food as a child, our mothers often reminded us there were starving babies in Africa.  We try to minimize the food we toss out at our house, but inevitably a bunch of it goes to waste.  We do compost our food scraps, but it would be much better environmentally if we ate more and composted less.
• Failing to Pay Attention to Your Car – Leakage from oil and other automotive fluids are the most common source of urban water pollution.  Oil spots on my driveway are one of my pet peeves and I try to address them as soon as possible, but I often postpone the related repairs longer than I should.  Like many others, I go longer between oil changes and tune-ups than I should to maintain a well-running and less polluting car. 

While I'd like to think I've made progress on my trip to environmental utopia, I clearly have yet to reach my destination.

These musings on environmental imperfection were recently prompted by the book No Impact Man by Colin Beavan.