Smorgy Borgy On Green - Cars, Bugs and Fast Food

The strangest thing about blogging is that "send it out to cyberspace" feeling and not ever knowing if anyone is reading what you have written. Well, since I have been blogging,I have found that just putting my many green thoughts in writing feels great and I love it. Enter Sara and Hank - two people who told me yesterday they like my blog and Sara even told me she has added it to her favorites. I am thrilled and will do my best to retain that standing! Thanks to both of you.

In our house when we all have something different to eat for dinner, we call it smorgy borgy so today my blog is just that - three shorts blurbs on very diverse topics.

Cars - every day cars make the news. No surprise on any one's part given the impact of rising gas prices. So after reading a long article today about one car giant teaming with dozens of utilities on plug-in cars this thought struck me - where is all the energy for the plug-in cars going to come from? I am NOT a scientist and I don't even make believe that I understand all of the massive pieces of information out there about electric cars and alternative fuels. But what I do know is that along the education of Mrs. Green journey, I listen to experts of all kinds talk about sucking energy off the grid and that we have to find alternatives to what we are doing now. So there is no conclusion on Mrs. Green's part for this part of the smorgy borgy. My opinion is let's keep working on those alternative fuel concepts that seem to offer so much promise and much needed relief to consumers.

Bugs - if you garden or if you like interesting, fun, funny stories, I invite you to go online and read the entire article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal entitled War of the Roses: Beetle vs. Nematode written by Steve Stecklow. You will love it - trust me. Besides being cleverly written, it epitomizes the challenge of caring, mainstream, committed people and their efforts to go organic. The author declared war on the Japanese beetle but was forbidden by his wife to exercise what he calls "the nuclear option" i.e. poisons. His description of spraying invisible nematodes all over the garden will have you laughing like it did me. There is no conclusion as it's a bit too early in the back east growing season but I will be watching for a follow-up article.

Fast Food - this one is a little bit of stretch for a Mrs. Green topic as it's more philosophical than strictly green. Lawmakers around the country are starting to introduce legislation to ban new fast-food restaurants and regulate the industry because of the war on obesity. Maybe it's just me but I think where I eat and where I took my kids to eat when they were growing up was totally up to me. No one has ever tried to lure me into McDonalds and force a Big Mac down my throat. I always felt it was my responsibility to teach my children about nutrition and exercise and taking care of their bodies. The truth be told, all three of them are much healthier eaters than my husband and I. They have brought us a long way and honestly avoid fast food except for a very occasional lapse. So it is with all things green and beautiful. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children about respecting Mother Earth, about why we don't liter, about conserving energy by turning off lights and not wasting water etc. If you want to take a stand about fast food, don't eat it! Fast food restaurants are already getting the message and are introducing somewhat healthier choices into their menus. Let the market dictate - not the government in this case.