Eco-Irony From a Mom's Perspective

     Let's talk about irony.  The irony of being a mom in the 21st Century eco-friendly culture.  We have disposable diapers and reusable grocery bags.  I looked it up online and, as most people who depend on the Internet for research do, read the first article I came across and decided it was true.  It was an article on eHow by Deb Barracato titled Environmental Impact of Disposable Diapers.  The article stated that the average child will soil 5,000 diapers before he/she is potty trained.  It's illustrated by a picture of a diapered cutey with the caption, "Parents will change up to 10,000 soiled diapers before their child potty trains."  Excuse me, I'll take the baby who only soils 5,000 diapers please!  Okay, so clearly his diaper argument could go on forever and (someone else) could write their own blog about it, but what I'm getting at is this: Most of us use these disposable diapers and yet we consider ourselves to be eco-friendly when we go to the store with those reusable shopping bags.  Or in my case, hope they remember to give you that 6 cent credit per bag when you reuse the store's own grocery bags from a previous trip. Meanwhile, our kids are pooping and peeing up a storm in these diapers which we are dumping into landfills across the nation.   But this is only the beginning of our ironic quest for eco-friendly options in a world where our neighbors put their Christmas tree out on the curb in a plastic bag (I kid you not, a perfectly good, natural tree... in a garbage bag).
     Each year I revel in the joy that is garage sales (not sure if that worked grammatically). There's a special place in my heart for the bi-annual kids sale that fills up a local sports arena with consignment kids clothes, toys, books and gear.  Oh joy is the only mood as I scoop up previously loved Baby GAP clothes ($2-10), Leapster Games (they cost $20 at the store yet at this kids sale, you can get a bag with games and a whole used game system for $12) and Matchbox Pop Up boxes for $3!  It's environmentally friendly too; reusing other peoples' kids' stuff.  I mean, kids wear and play with things for such a short time, they so rarely get used up, might as well let strangers reuse them for a small fee!  This would all be well and good, the quest for used cheap stuff (saving packaging & waste) if it weren't for the fact that it doesn't curtail us buying new stuff very much at all.  No, we continue to buy new toys for birthdays and holidays. Toys in packages designed to catch a young-person's eye in a toy aisle.  Packages that trap the toys inside for a full 10 minutes after they have been opened by the kid, while the parent feverishly tries to rip off cardboard, unravel plastic coated metal twisties, even sometimes unscrewing from their death-like grasp to.. the box!  And after all that wasted packaging a few years later (maybe months) the toy is spent, broken and/or outgrown.  Maybe we'll pass it on but often it is just more plastic in a garbage can.
     There's the walking to offer fresh air at a local park.  But how do you get there?  By car. And how do you get to the ice cream place afterwards? By car.
     ... The purchasing of organic produce, but forgetting that there's pesticides in your wheat so that the bread you just bought might not be in your family's best interest.
     ... The urge to get a shiny new hybrid followed by the reality of getting a larger used sedan because it's cheaper and may have better safety ratings.
     ... And a little known fact as you pack your child's lunch bag with his/her reusable Hello Kitty/Iron Man  insulated tote: those plastic yogurt containers you're sending with your kid each day? They're getting thrown out.  Probably the juice bottles too.  No one is washing them out and recycling them.  If your child buys a lunch, it's probably served on a Styrofoam tray.
     We live in constant irony here.  Sometimes to me it seems we take a small step forward and a few steps back (I know, I didn't make that up).  I want to be better- to use the reusable shopping bags AND the reusable diapers.  I'd love to buy a certified used Hybrid.  I haven't yet, but I recognize my faults here.  While I may not be saving the planet, perhaps I can console myself in knowing that at least I'm not deluding myself to think that being an eco-friendly mom is easy.