Having to be Resourceful Sucks
Ariela Haro von Mogel July 9th, 2009
I have been talking about this topic with a lot of people lately, and it needs to be mentioned. I said a very unfortunate and un-PC comment to my husband the other day. I was griping about how I want to be environmental out of choice and not because I have to. In other words, I don’t like having to be resourceful because I’m a broke a**. No one likes to be reminded they are poor (student poor in my case), and feeling like you have to reuse items because otherwise you won’t have anything else is just no fun.
I realize this is a potentially classist thing for me to say. But this is how I feel. This is not necessarily rational. I want to be like Jennifer Aniston and just plop down a huge wad of cash to get skylights installed in my house. But no, I have to be some regular old Schmo and deal with the windows that I have. So unglamorous.
But all this does lead one to an interesting thought. There is a serious element of elitism within the environmental movement and especially the organic food and local movement. Even though you are achieving the same means – using less resources – one looks way more cool and hip. And dammit, how I want to be a hipster who looks like they’re not trying too hard.
There is this whole subculture/phenomena, however you want to label it, of DIYers (even the term was probably recently coined) who make reusing resources look cool. I really like this website called Craft Gossip that makes you feel less bad about being a broke college student. And I realize there are plenty of awesome websites written by stay-at-home Moms who know the real low-down on saving money and reusing resources. They’re just way too practical for me. I like to forget that I’m another college student strapped for cash, and believe that I am being resourceful out of choice!
