Doing my Reluctant Part to Pollute

Not to toot my own horn, but I live a lifestyle of pretty light environmental impact. I haven't owned a car for 5 years, instead cycling, walking, mass transiting, or sailing to get around. I lived off the grid for half of last year, only using minimal light generated by a solar panel. I eat almost entirely locally during our growing season, including produce, honey, and meat from Orcas. As much as I love Spanish wines and Argentine malbecs, I make a point to buy Washington wines and even San Juan vineyard or Lopez ones regularly. I compost, buy used clothes, and always bring my own grocery bag and coffee mug.

As hard as I try to minimize my consumption of fossil fuels, I bought a car today! It feels like a regressive step in a way, but a big move forward in others. I'm pretty excited to not have to ask for rides, bicycle in the pouring rain, hitch-hike in the dark, or take city buses loaded down with bags. It's a maroon '85 Toyota Camry, and looks pretty much like this one. It's a 5-speed that should get good mileage, and I bought it from the original owner who took great care of it.



Oh, and I've vowed to keep my front seat clean so I'm always ready to pick up hitch-hikers and start repaying the transportation gods for all the times I got great rides.