To go green is to decide to do things differently, and that’s a chore for most of us. It may be only a little differently, like being sure not to leave the water running when you’re not actually using it. Or it may be a big thing, like making decisions with an architect as you design your new home. But whatever it is, some motivation is usually needed to get over the threshold of change.

For many, the motivation is pure altruism — it’s better for the world if I do it this way. For others, saving money may help to make the transition, like starting a vegetable garden as the price of veggies goes up in the store that it costs more to drive to. And there are lots of other reasons that conservation is good as well as economical.

My main motivator is a concern about what our future will be like, and a desire to move closer to what might be called sustainability, just in case things do fall apart sooner rather than later.

Globally, we see the supply of oil falling ever further short of demand, which means the price must continue upward, and our whole economy is based on unlimited cheap oil. Worldwide, the amount of food produced is decreasing, while the population continues to rise. Water tables in many large areas are falling, irreversibly. Pollution is spreading, in the land, sea and sky. And, more locally, as the United States heads into a recession we’ll see rising unemployment and increasing cost of living. And wars are now unpredictable.

In this context, enlarging our garden and increasing the variety of things we grow and doing more preserving sounds like good insurance to me, and well worth the effort. Photovoltaic cells on the roof can provide a little security against the instabilities of an overloaded electrical infrastructure, fed by generators using fuel that is in short supply. And being able to access our spring and to use rainwater is an additional kind of insurance, as is having a (very attractive) wood stove and a lot of trees out back.

Going green is not just better for the world, it’s better for me and better for the family (hopefully mine) who will live here after me.

So GREEN it will be. And away we go!

About the author: Don and Nancy White live in Rexford in a passive solar house Don built in 1980. They are building a new home, which combines active and passive solar technology, across the street. The new house will also conserve water by collecting rain water and storing it in a underground cistern for irrigation, toilet and indoor utility use. Avid gardeners, the Whites have many vegetable, herb and flower beds, and plan to add berries, grapes and small fruit trees in the new yard.

Have you made changes in your life to save the Earth’s resources? What are your reasons for living green? You can add a comment below, or send an email to greenpoint@dailygazette.net.