Sea-ing what I can do

I love the sea and have found some of my most peaceful and inspirational moments there. The sea has a beauty and a life that captivates me. Not just because I am a Pisces either. As a little girl and the daughter/grand-daughter of salty sailors, I grew up around water. Leaving it was painful. I would load up bottles of sea water and tuck them into secret places in the car and hope my parents wouldn't find them. I also tried once to hide a bucket of live scallops and hermit crabs, but after a long drive back to our home in Pennsylvania, the smell gave my sea treasures away. I used to jump the waves and pretend I was Flipper. I had a mermaid club. I tried to convince my grandparents that I had to go to camp on a sailing ship. I still dream of studying marine biology. 

I cannot even put my head around the BP disaster. Never having gone to the Gulf Coast beaches, I can only imagine their beauty and the lives that the people and animals have built on their shores. I have thought about what I can do because I am in part responsible for this tragedy. The answer...I am already part of the solution in a small way and will continue to do more and share it on this blog. In every way, from the foods that I eat, to the skin and body care products I use, to the energy I consume, I am looking at ways to lessen my personal dependence on petroleum. Maybe others will join me and find what I am doing helpful.  Maybe they have ideas to share to help me do better and together we can do more. How we live matters now more than ever.

The biggest thing I am doing, becoming vegetarian, has been a huge adjustment for me. I am a big eater, not a nibbling kind of gal and meat was a big part of my plate and palate. Now I know what giving it up will mean, fuel-wise. It takes 50 times more fossil fuel to produce a meat-centered diet versus a meat-free one. 50 times.

I am also on the lookout for as many personal care/beauty products as possible that are petroleum-free (see Lip-smacking Good post from yesterday) and I am making every effort not to use as much energy as I once did. I am not going to use the air conditioner in my car this summer. I love finding shops that make and sell vintage goods...recycling a beautiful story to be enjoyed again. There are more things I am doing, too...I came up with my own checklist, "What One Person Can Do". That's the goal...doing my part to help the beautiful story of the land and the sea endure to be enjoyed again and again.