Earlier this year I started blogging so that I could share my real opinions with the world, my friends, and my family without seeming obtrusive. What I didn’t realize at the time, is that by sharing what I really think about living life in a shade of green is that I’d come to understand and respect myself better than I ever have in my adult life. I now fully grock the reason that so many folks use writing as a form of personal therapy!

Sharing my personal opinions and experiences has clearly been therapeutic, but another reason that I’ve started to be more comfortable in my own skin is that I’ve found a network of green bloggers with whom I identify and a few of whom I could perhaps be so brash as to call friends! At the least, I’ve found a selection of women (and a few men) in the blogosphere with similar experiences, ideas and goals. So, although in my daily life, I may often be the odd woman out (or the token tree hugger), in the blogosphere I am just one of the bunch!

There are two specific online communities that have really hit home the fact that Green Me is part of a bigger green movement, spearhead by moms and green bloggers around the country. The first group is the EcoMom Alliance, which you’ve seen come up in several recent blog posts. The second group is called APLS (Affluent People Living Sustainably) and is pronounced “apples.” Although, I keep wanting to add in an “F” for “Frugal” and turn the group into the APFLS (apfel is the German word for apple). This feeling may be attributed to the recent emphasis on Frugal Green or perhaps it is just my German roots shining through.

Either way, I am excited to see myself  as part of the growing number of EcoMoms and APLS who are mindfully thinking, talking about, and working to live sustainably. In fact, this week the APLS community published a collection of blog posts discussing what “sustainable living” means on a personal level. I have not had a chance to click through every post, but I’ve been very impressed and moved by the posts that I have read. If you are unclear of your personal definition of “sustainable living” or if you are curious about what a variety of folks around the country think about the topic you should definitely check out these thought provoking posts.

For those of you who are not bloggers or perhaps not avid readers of blogs — the creation of online networks and communities may seem goofy and superficial. I am sure that more than one of my friends and or family members has rolled his or her eyes when I’ve told them about my blog. And, I myself have been known to “poo poo” the power of online communities. However, now that I am part of such a community I am both thankful for its presence and cognizant of its potential.

Human beings are social animals and we are highly influenced by the thoughts, feelings and actions of our peer groups. Part of the power of the net is achieved through peer groups and social networking sites. I feel the power of the net and these social forces every time I visit the blog of someone that I admire and or with whom I feel a connection. For example, you may have noticed that from the beginning I’ve had ads on my blog. My basic thought was “do what you love and the money will follow.”  I’ve read several blogs over the past year that have been both socially and financially successful, so I figured I might as well “monetize” my blog and perhaps make some spare cash, while having fun.

The problem here is that the experiences I share and the values I espouse are meant to encourage and support serious social change. Reading the APLS posts on sustainability led me to realize that advertising on my blog is in fact in direct conflict with the message that I am trying to get across. Living sustainably to me means buying and using fewer material goods, whether they be plastic hunks made overseas or handmade items made locally. Buying simply for the sake of buying really doesn’t make sense. In fact, over the last few years Mr. Green Me and I have had a very similar experience to that of Eco Burban Mom and her family. Many of the items we “need” are not really needs at all, but superfluous additions to our material world.

So why, dear reader, should I tempt you to buy, buy, buy — when I don’t do it or believe in it myself? I might argue that folks will buy stuff, so the lesser of two evils is to send you to eco-conscious shops; however, you might answer back that there are many good green shopping guides, therefore it is unnecessary for me to barrage you with ads, especially if they distract from my over all message.

Starting today my ads shall begin to disappear. So far I have removed all my Sharesale ads, except the link to Obama T-shirts, because I think that project is kind of cool. I have also left up a single Google ad, as I am stubbornly awaiting the $100 mark, so that I can get paid. Lets’ just say that I’ve made it past the half-way mark, and I am not willing to donate my hard earned funds back to Google! When I do finally make 100 smackeroos I have a plan in place. First I will remove the remaining ad, then I will hand 20 percent over to Matt, my trusty web host and friend. The rest will be spent taking Mr. Green Me out to dinner at one of the several local (as in locavorish) restaurants that have opened in our area over the last year. At least Google appears to have gotten better at matching content than they were when I first started!

So Who is the Real Green Me?

I am a Mom, a Wife, a Daughter, and a Citizen of the Planet Earth. My favorite song is Imagine, by John Lennon. I am a Green Democrat (I prefer this to Liberal). I’ve been called an Anarchist, a Tree Hugger, a Crunchy Granola, and politically correct.  I consider these attempts at profiling to be fairly accurate and complimentary.  (I was offended by the Anarchist comment at first, but after a little research decided my friend hit the nail on the head, so to say!) I see the world through the eyes of a scientist and ethnographer. I believe in both love and logic. I am not religious at present, but intrigued by the teachings of a variety of spiritual figures, several of whom are Zen Buddhists.

I am a recovering vegetarian, which means that I am inclined to eat vegetarian, but I also believe that the occasional serving of meat is good for the human body. I happen to love both bacon and pigs, which causes me inner turmoil. I do not eat goats. Ever. Even if the goat has been ceremonially sacrificed on a beach in Southern Madagascar. In general, I love all kinds of animals whether they be furry, scaled, or covered in slime. When it comes to animals as food, I consume meat and animal products that have been humanely raised for human consumption, and the occasional serving of cold water fish.

Ultimately, the human behind Green Me is difficult to put in a box, so don’t be surprised if I surprise you! I recently reminded myself of this fact when I came across a file with old tests, including personality indicators. Supposedly our “core” personality doesn’t change over time, and yet as a high school junior I scored strongly as an ISTJ and after college as an ENTJ…explain that you Myers-Briggs aficionados!