Turning Corners, Turning Pages
I Explored a Columbus Shopping Mall and Environmentalism
We planted black-eyed Susans, a native plant in Ohio, after
I read about climate change and how to care for the environment during a trip
to Columbus.
By Anna Krejci
In a store I held linen table napkins. They were coral and
solid in color with no pattern. As I considered whether to buy them, I thought about
how they would match our kitchen chair seat cushions so well. They were also on
clearance and affordable. My spouse and I were on a short vacation at Easton
Town Center in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It felt so wonderful to be out in an
open-air shopping mall. With plenty of fresh air and sunshine that weekend, it
was energizing to be there. The home goods store I was in offered many choices,
not just in table linens, but in products of all kinds for the kitchen,
including dishware and cooking utensils. We ended up buying those coral-colored,
linen napkins.
I recount this trip from three years ago, when my husband
and I stayed several days to shop. There are a lot of ways to spend vacations.
Some tourists like amusement park rides. Others like to see a show. Some people
travel to compete in sports. I like to have time for rest and relaxation when I
visit places. Of course, I love to make plans – like shopping, seeing plays,
hiking, playing games or conversing with friends over a meal. Sometimes,
though, it just feels right to sit and read a book, even while I am in a new
and exciting place.
Searching for a Good Book
I walked into a Barnes and Noble Booksellers and searched
for the perfect book to suit my mood. I looked for a long time. What was I
interested in reading? My choices were so extensive. Books filled the shelving,
which stretched from wall to wall. How was I to pick just one to read?
Climate change was on my mind, and I had a recommendation to
read a book about it called “Falter” by Bill McKibben. Sure enough, the
bookstore had a copy of the book, which had a bright, yellow cover. This book from
2019 was a New York Times Bestseller. The author is well known for spending decades
covering climate change. His earlier book, “The End of Nature”, which I have
not read, but was written in 1989, also dealt with it.
“Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?”
opened my eyes to seeing just how prevalent fossil fuels are in our lives, and
thus just how much of a problem burning them is for the climate. For instance,
I had not given much thought that rooftop asphalt shingles come from refining
oil. McKibben points this out in his book, more specifically making the point
that so much energy goes into collecting raw materials, making asphalt shingles
and transporting them across great distances. So many intricate arrangements go
into making everything we have, as he demonstrated. To me, I realized so much
of what we have is made of oil; it isn’t just a matter of the gasoline that we
put in our vehicles. It is much more. McKibben’s book explored history, human
behavior and rationales, and technology – all as it pertained to our human undertakings
that can save the environment or jeopardize it. He examined humans’ future
ability to live on Earth. It was fascinating to read, and I could not put the
book down. His book reaffirmed my belief in the power of cooperation and of
achieving the common good.
Taking Action to Help the Environment
Since that trip, and since reading “Falter,” I have made
some changes in how I live. These ideas for change did not necessarily come
from “Falter,” but I’ve read about them in various sources over the years. I’m
not sure if these changes are too late, but my spouse, Corey, and I have tried
to do our part to improve the environment. We have a rain barrel at home; we
compost our vegetable scraps; and we planted native Ohio species of plants in
our front yard.
There is still plenty more we could do. We could try to
filter out microplastics from our laundry loads to keep them from entering the
waterways. Synthetic fibers in clothing are made from oil, too, and release
microplastics when washed. See, the problem is so much more than fueling cars,
but we could also get hybrid gas-electric vehicles to mitigate the problem. We
could stop buying household goods made from plastic – instead opting for things
constructed from bamboo, which is a fast-growing grass that is promisingly
easier to renew than trees.
By reading, I have found that doing these things would have
an impact on lowering greenhouse gas emissions or else coping with the effects
of climate change. A rain barrel that catches the rainwater from our roof
efficiently stores water. We can use the contents to water our plants. We would
not want to misuse water if we were experiencing drought due to extreme
weather. Native plant species in our yard promote biodiversity and usually
require less watering. Less watering of our yard would conserve water in
droughts. By composting produce scraps in our yard, we avoid releasing methane,
a greenhouse gas, that is otherwise produced when the food goes to landfills.
The lack of oxygen in the landfills creates a condition that produces methane
when food breaks down; composting food outside of landfills is much better for
the climate.
There are other things we want to do. Reducing the number of
plastic products that we buy should reduce demand for oil, which is used to
make plastic, and thus I would assume that would help humans pivot away from
reliance on fossil fuels. Buying things made of bamboo might save trees from
being cut down; trees remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the
atmosphere as part of their lifecycle. It seems like many things that are
considered green living are beneficial in controlling climate change.
A Better Future
I saw so many products at the stores, and so many desirable
things for sale. When I first started reading “Falter,” I sat outside in a
chair by a nice, man-made fountain in the mall, and I had paid little attention
to the true cost of human activity on the planet. But later I realized there
are many things that people can do to support a healthy environment. My spouse
and I made a small choice in buying the linen napkins on clearance; that
purchase was most likely a better choice of fabric for the environment since
linen is a natural fiber that doesn’t contain microplastics and will not shed them
when laundered. The choice we have in the market should work in our favor,
since we should have the power to choose products made with the least harmful
environmental impacts. I do not claim to be an expert on which products are
produced in the best ways, but it is my aspiration to purchase wisely for the
sake of the planet and for the sake of the people who will be fortunate to live
on it.
Work Cited
McKibben, Bill. Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play
Itself Out? Henry Holt and Company,
2019, New York.
Resources
I compiled a list of resources which provide some background
on the positions that I articulated in my blog post.
“Composting Guide: Reduce Organic Waste and Green Your Yard.”
Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, 2018, https://cuyahogarecycles.org/Documents/Brochures/CompostingGuide2018_CCSWD.pdf
.
Miller, James. “Is Bamboo Eco-Friendly? 12 Key Pros and Cons
Analyzed.” The Roundup.org, 15 March 2024, https://theroundup.org/is-bamboo-eco-friendly/
.
“Native Plants.” Ohio State University College of Food,
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Retrieved 16 July 2024, https://plantpath.osu.edu/nativeplants
.
Wolfe, Isobella. “Material Guide: How Sustainable Is
Linen?” Good On You, 6 July 2023,
https://goodonyou.eco/how-sustainable-is-linen/ .
Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio
