Red and Green?

It seems to be some sort of consensus that only Democrats care about environmental issues, and that Republicans are satisfied, if not happy, to breathe dirty air and drink polluted water. At least that's what those with a vested interest in garnering Democratic votes would have you believe. It's also complete rubbish.

I view being "green" as an extension of my larger philosophy of taking and exhibiting personal responsibility.

To wit:

1. We fill 3 recycling bins weekly, but the big main trash receptacle only once every two weeks;
2. We have a hybrid vehicle (Lexus RX400h), largely because it's a nice ride [ :-) ], but also because our round-town MPG doubled vs. the Acura MDX it replaced. My other vehicle is conventional gas, but gets 24 MPG around town and 30 on the highway.;
3. We use compact fluorescent lights where practical, replacing incandescent bulbs when they burn out. I won't do so on lights with dimmers, or lights that support close work (like reading) where fluorescents give me headaches, but other lights are just fine;
4. Although we have many computers around the home, and most are "on" all the time, each has it's power settings set to turn off the monitor and hard-drives after 15 minutes of inactivity;
5. My home's HVAC systems are on automatic set-back thermostats;
6. Upon its demise, I replaced my natural gas hot-water heater with a natural gas, tankless, on-demand water heater (from Takagi ... highly recommended!). I'm no longer paying to keep 50 gallons hot 24/7 ... I heat water only when I use it, and pay accordingly.

I could go on, but you likely get the point. At an early age, while in Boy Scouts, I was taught and adopted a philosophy of leaving things better than you found them. I don't have (or need) the government looking over my shoulder to live what I consider to be a responsible lifestyle. In America, we enjoy more freedom than the people of any other country, and we enjoy the world's highest standard of living. I refuse to feel guilty about this, and will enjoy all the fruits that our country's founders, my ancestors, and I personally, have worked so hard to achieve.