Initiation

Dear readers (if there are any),

I and my family, consisting of gorgeous wife and adorable son, have recently undertaken several steps to modify our lifestyle to one more in line with the notion of preserving and not polluting the earth. First, though, some caveats:

1. I've never liked the term "green". I think it is far too commercialized and has served as an opportunity for manufacturers with little interest in the environmental impact of their production to play on the emotions of those more concerned. I use it for this blog simply as a means of attracting readers.

2. Most of my information and motivation does not come from primary sources. I am a suburbanite dad who believes that many of the things my family does on a daily basis could be done with a more organic mindset. To this point I have been substantially influenced by several poignant documentaries and a couple incredible books. Unfortunately, I don't know any farmers and have very little perspective of people in the third world. I have traveled to impoverished areas in South America but it was some time ago and never with the intent of investigating the environmental impact of global industrialization on those peoples.

3. I realize this is not a unique concept. However, if there are others like us out there, who have been similarly affected by the growing genre of environmental transformation media out there, perhaps it will serve as a guide for individuals with questions on the process of becoming more earth friendly.

4. Lastly, I believe that when the chips are down, most if not all people choose to do whatever is in their own best interest in spite of all else. In other words, everyone is in favor of saving the environment until they see how much local grown, grass fed beef costs (more than prime beef in most cases). I know, this sounds incredibly pessimistic. However, I don't mean it that way. As Bruce Bueno de Mesquita would say, it's merely a notion that helps you predict human behavior (even your own). With this in mind, I fully realize that cost is a strong deterrent to many families who would like to do something like this. So is "extra" work. Most of the solutions I will pursue will keep these factors in mind as they are important to my family as well.

So it will be my intention to endorse and try out different products and methods that aim to improve our family's health and the health of the environment. When/If I have any readers, I would love to see an open forum on the ideas discussed here. Since I like watching documentaries and reading books, they will probably also feature in this space.

So here we go...