As someone who has devoted much of the past half-decade delivering my message of green living (it’s fun! it’s easy! it’s cheap!), I frequently get resistence in various versions of “I don’t have time” or “I like my conveniences.” Which makes me wonder at what point living lighter on the earth became inconvenient. You wanna talk inconvenience, let’s talk about a lack of fresh water… However, I digress.
There is a price we pay for “convenience” and it doesn’t always show up at the cash register.
Consider the disposable dusting cloths and Swiffer-esque cleaning products that conveniently clean our homes…more than 83,000 of them annually, enough to fill 9,000 18-wheelers, according to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Consider the additional greenhouse gas emissions from using a gas-powered leaf blower rather than an old-fashioned rake. One hour’s of use produces as much emissions as a car travelling close to 150 – 500 km (depending on who you ask. Either way, they’re worse than driving a car…). You get the idea, I’m sure.

I’m not pushing for a return to the days of washboards and churning our own butter. What I am encouraging is an understanding of exactly what convenience costs. If we add it up, we just might find that inconveniencing ourselves in the short run will pay off for future generations.