I am still attempting to soak up all of the knowledge and wisdom laid out by Xtina in her ‘com’post about the Green Life. But the spirit of the ideas and philosophy she shared is not lost on me.

I am an urban dude. This means that I have no yard. No lawn, no garden, no tree to call my own. Neither do I live in a house. Apartment life for me, yes. (This was an unimaginable state when I was a child). The gardens, trees, and grass that I get to enjoy is all communal. A visit to the park is required if I want to “let my dog out”. While there are many downsides to my existence in a large structure of horizontally-packed and vertically-stacked abodes, there are some benefits, too.

Living in such close quarters, in a city so dense as The City is a means to an end, if you will. I live walking distance to my work. Walking distance to my bank, to the cafe, to my favorite breakfast joint, even to two grocery stores (and a few liquor stores, I am told.) If I am too lazy, or too late to walk to work, a bus rolls down the street every 4-5 minutes. My gym occupies a couple of floors in a massive building between here and work, as does a huge cineplex, where I go to see blockbusters.

So? you may be wondering. So, I don’t have to drive to any of these places when I want to go to them. The car stays parked, the gas goes unburnt. My apartment, of modest size, generates a PG&E bill of $30 a month. I deduce from the small bill that I am not burning a lot of fuel to power my lights and electronics, cook my food, or cool my beer.

Especially so in the aftermath of my Burning Man adventures, my concern about my own impact on this world motivates me to recycle like crazy. I am proud to say that, at home I generate roughly twice as much recycle material as trash. If it can be recycled, it goes in the recycle bin.

Still, into the landfill I send masses of chopped veggies, grody paper towels, and the occasional over-ripe banana. Xtina has shared with me some of the wormy strategies available for the budding apartment-based composting system. I am not there yet, but I will be soon. I care deeply about the legacy of my behaviors on others, on the planet. And I know that even when my own actions seem totally trivial and inconsequential - as I suspect your own actions may seem to you - I remind myself that I am not alone, nor are you, Xtina. There is a growing movement of people like us who refuse to partake in the oil consumption orgy we are so desperately being sold. Every little thing we do adds up, and together we are making a change.