The Guardian, July 29, 2019: Can you afford to be green when you’re not rich? I kept a diary to find out
How easy is it to go green, to make deliberate, eco-friendly choices when you’re barely getting by? Can you be green and poor?
This is the question the author has been pondering as politicians and corporations have placed the burden of environmental responsibility on the consumer: stop using plastic straws, carry reusable shopping bags, recycle everything.
The author lives in an environmentally conscious place: a rural town with thriving local food businesses, a farmers’ market and many organic farms. But it’s also a small town in central Appalachia, in the poorest county in her state: Ohio. Many people there go hungry. They can’t afford food, let alone organic food. A gas station is the closest source of “groceries” for some people without cars. You can’t walk everywhere if you live in the country.
For a week, the author kept a diary with some of the choices she made toward being green.
