One thought I have, anticipating the arrival of my son, are the footprints we will leave together.
And how, when we look back on our journey, and there is only soft prints in the sand, we will know it's because we left a much lighter footprint.
And what, my friends, do you think I mean, by lighter? I in fact mean our environmental footprints.
Against many odds, we are considering cloth diapering for our kid. The logic is simple.
It's a lot cheaper.
$5000/year less is the number thrown around, which fits with my simple calculations. There are apparently also health benefits, less diaper rash and easier (earlier) conversion away from diaper use. Also, they make stunning dust rags later, and can be used on kid numero 2 if that happens.
But, being a post-sensitive male, one who is attempting to transcend my youth at a small liberal arts college, it is the green arguments that stir the emotions. Apparently a study by the UK gov't found that cloth and disposable diapers have equivalent carbon footprints more or less. Meaning that one is left with a choice between the evils of landfill (disposable) and the evils of water use (cloth).
Disposable diapers generate ton(s) of waste per child.
OK, so lets put water use in perspective. We will probably do ~30 loads per month, one per day (we'll probably do less, but for argument sake). That means 24 gallons times 30 or ~720 gallons per month of extra water. This number is known as the 'water footprint.'
Did you know that each hamburger requires 630 gallons of water footprint, and each cup of coffee is 37 gallons? Put another way, the hamburger is ~a month of wash loads.
So, I here pledge to offset my new water use by eating 1 less burger every month (no comment on how coffee intake will vary). This fact will allow me to return to Oberlin for my next reunion (2011) with a feeling of lightness.
Of course, that light-headed feeling could be due to the dehydration. Or the dizzying logic of all these abstract choices one faces when trying to get ready to raise a kid.
