Eco-Friendly Teen VS. Non Eco-Friendly Parents?
I am almost 18, so I’m still in the teen age stage and I am living at my grandparents (legal guardians) and I am all for organic eating and eco-friendly ways of life, I really want to live a eco-friendly life but my grandparents are not for it they think I’m dumb, and I am a teen so I shouldn’t care about the environment and organic foods are expensive and we have to feed almost 5 people.
What should I do to go eco-friendly and have my grandparents help? Talking to them is not gonna work 
Hmmm. I’m going to take a big leap off the mountain and say that you are a product of the public schools which are full of teachers trying to mold young minds and influence them to become righteous environmentalists. It is the new spirituality. You can’t talk about God and the church and saving people, but “save the whales!”
Seriously though, do you have garden space? Are your grandparents going to object to a gardening project? Even if you don’t, consider container plantings. This might be a way to begin to grow some of your own foods in an eco-friendly manner. It will take some hard work and research on your part, but you sound all enthused about this stuff so at 18 you should have the energy to get something going here. I would guess that if your grandparents see you doing something positive rather than just criticizing them that they might even help you some… gardening often appeals to the elderly.
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May 5th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Hmmm. I’m going to take a big leap off the mountain and say that you are a product of the public schools which are full of teachers trying to mold young minds and influence them to become righteous environmentalists. It is the new spirituality. You can’t talk about God and the church and saving people, but "save the whales!"
Seriously though, do you have garden space? Are your grandparents going to object to a gardening project? Even if you don’t, consider container plantings. This might be a way to begin to grow some of your own foods in an eco-friendly manner. It will take some hard work and research on your part, but you sound all enthused about this stuff so at 18 you should have the energy to get something going here. I would guess that if your grandparents see you doing something positive rather than just criticizing them that they might even help you some… gardening often appeals to the elderly.
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May 6th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Try listening to them, they may be right.
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May 6th, 2010 at 12:28 am
About buying Organic foods it is pretty hard when feeding 5. But, you can start by taking the time to recycle, don’t ask other people to do what you believe in just start taking that plastic bottle out of the trash. I’m sure if you have about 3-4 small plastic bins in the garage to separate your recyclables and YOU take the time to take them to a recycle center your grandparents won’t care.
If they say it’s stupid just ask that they please respect your ideas and that they don’t have to be a part of it. Before you know it they will also start taking the time to separate what is recyclable.
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May 6th, 2010 at 12:49 am
A lot of things fall under both categories–eco-friendly and frugal. I’m sure they’d be in favor of saving money, right?
Gardening was already mentioned. Great idea. Shop your local farmers’ markets for fresh, better, sometimes organic, cheaper food. There are two things about this–local farmers/gardeners probably use fewer chemicals on their crops than industrial farms. Second, it takes a lot less fuel (carbon emissions) to get the food a few miles to town than it does to transport it across the country, or from another country.
Find ways to reuse everyday items. For example, Ziploc bags. Turn them inside out and wash them. Let them air dry and reuse (never if they’ve had raw meat in them). Wash and reuse margarine containers, etc instead of throwing them out. Find a store that will fill gallon water jugs. Our Wal-Mart has a machine that’s 33 cents a gallon–that’s half the price of a new gallon of drinking water. Then, reuse your 20 ounce water bottles by filling them with this water, instead of throwing them out.
Dry your laundry outside on the line rather than running the dryer. Saves energy and money. Look for a homemade laundry soap recipe on the ‘net. Lots out there. They are more natural and only cost a penny a load or something.
Do you take part in household cleaning? If so, vinegar or baking soda will clean just about anything. Much easier on the environment and cheaper than commercial cleaners, too.
Do you do any cooking for your family? Try vegetarian meals. As I’m sure you know, it takes a lot of food resources to produce meat.
Buy used. It saves using up the resources and energy of making new products. Also, keeps us from supporting overseas sweat shops. I love thrift stores and rummage sales for used clothing. Obviously, way less expensive.
Normal things–take shorter showers, turn of lights and appliances when not in use, turn the water off when you brush your teeth, turn the thermostat up a couple degrees and dress cooler (or vice versa, depending on the climate/season).
How about recycling? Do you guys do it? If not, find out how it works in your community. In our town, they give you a recycling bin (as many as you want, actually) for free and pick it up once a month. Would they be okay with it, if it’s free?
Show them how some of the things also save money. Are they going to run right out and pay an extra dollar for Organic Grape Nuts? Probably not. My best advice if you want to eat the organic food that’s packaged and you can buy in a store is to get a little part time job and buy the things for yourself. Money’s tight for everyone right now.
I’ve dealt with a generation gap on issues like this before. I’m in my 30′s and my dad’s a farmer. He just totally shuts me out when I start talking about "organic" or "GMO’s" or "environment". So I know what you’re going through and from my experience, it’s impossible to change their minds. You can only do what you can do. Good luck.
edit–the guy below me is right. I should not have made it like it’s an age thing. It’s not. I should have said, I’ve dealt with stubborn parents, too. LOL. Good luck.
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