Pictures, Video and a Soapbox! Betcha can't wait!

And now for my soapbox. All this craze about 'going green' is really making me scratch my head. Don't get me wrong. I think we are incredibly wasteful people and just buy, buy, buy and then throw it away when it loses its luster. I think we could all stand to go green to an extent, but the question is how? A lot of trendy magazines are peddling 'green gifts' or 'green options' for things we use every day. But! These 'green' products can cost two, three, even four times as much as the original. For example, a box of 30 organic carmels for $45?! I know that each product has an impact on the environment, but here is my theory: doesn't money have a 'carbon footprint' too? I mean, you have to earn the money somehow. Theoretically, if something cost me an extra 30 bucks, and I make ten bucks an hour, I'd have to work an extra 3 hours. That means three extra hours of sitting at a desk, with the lights on and the computer buzzing, or whatever your job consists of. Doesn't that have a carbon footprint? Here's another thing I think is funny: green gadgets. Should I go with the plasma or the HDTV, or whatever that thing is? An Mp3 player or a new stereo? The same trendy magazines are also educating us on which gadget to buy. Why not use what you've got? Go to the thrift store? Or, gasp, go without? Maybe, if you really want to be green, you can keep using the same stereo you've had since third grade to keep it from going to the landfill. Another suggestion I read last night was to avoid packing peanuts and use 'green fillers' instead. The examples provided were peanuts in the shell, popped corn, old t-shirts, or...and this is the one that just doesn't seem all that 'green,' peppermint candies. If they are all wrapped in plastic, and come in a plastic bag, does that really make them green? OK. I guess I've rambled on senselessly for long enough. Now that y'all can see how crazy I am, I think I'll sign off. I've got to go find some peppermint candies to pad Jeff's Calculus book with. He didn't waste any time selling that bad boy. No more Calculus for him!