Common Cuisine |

Apparently, last week’s volcano eruption in Chile blew enough greenhouse gases into the global atmosphere to undo 5 years of our best efforts to reduce emissions. It kinda serves to defeat the purpose of what we are doing, if the goal is to leave a zero carbon footprint.

Yet, conservation is never wasted. There is still truth in that the less we consume, the less we pay for utilities, fuel, and commodities. Saving money is always good, and putting less in landfills allows us to enjoy the parts of our country that have not been converted. While I don’t know who to believe as far as how critical of a difference this belching volcano makes in the global equation, I still feel justified in doing my part to steward my personal resources.

This week I conserved gasoline by making all my shopping trips (4 stores) in one circuit, and picking up my daughter from school at the end of it. I calculate that the total driving distance was 20 miles, with 12 of them being part of my daily school run anyway. Since I live 9 miles from the nearest grocery store, you can see that I really put those additional 8 miles to work for me. Gasoline cost to drive my car 8 miles: about $2. I am pleased.