Green Dilemmas

So, like a lot of people, we're trying to lead a greener life. That means many things, but primarily making changes, big and small, in how we live. We try to be more thoughtful consumers; we try to drive less and use less.

Some choices are pretty obvious. I bring my own bags to the store (they're in the car, so even for quick trips to Walgreens I have them available). I look for products with less packaging. I try to cook as much from scratch as possible. We joined a CSA so that we could get produce grown within 70 miles of our home (we have yet to get our first basket, so I can't report on that yet). I combine errands and try to think about how much I drive.

But other choices aren't so obvious.

• Is it using less carbon if I drive the 20 miles to and from the store where I can get locally sourced produce? Or, is it better if I stop at the store a couple blocks away (and where I don't drive out of my way) where the produce has been trucked in from goodness knows where?
• Is it better to support the small local hardware store, even though they probably get their products from the same Chinese manufacturers as a big box store?
• Is organic produce always more green, even if it's been shipped from Mexico?

I just read this book called Farewell My Subaru, where the author moves to a small ranch in Southwest New Mexico and tries to take himself off the grid and make his carbon footprint as small as possible. He talks about some of the conundrums he faces in trying to accomplish his goals of a carbonless lifestyle. If you start to think about it, many of those choices and decisions aren't that clear.

Seriously...it makes my head hurt to think of these things.