One of the first things we purchased when we moved here was a utility trailer. What do we need that for? I asked my husband. He said we would need to to haul brush to the dump. (Back then we still called it the dump.) He did use it for that purpose...a lot.

In 1995 I became the one to go to the recycling center. We were remodeling and in 1995 the center still allowed residents to bring in their used building materials.

Every week I would make at least 3 trips with trailer fully loaded. I was a bit of a novelty, because there were not too many women who would drive a car with a trailer. (I got to know the guys pretty well--a few were nice.)

I've made a few trips since then, but I always needed my husband's car since he had the hitch.

But this summer, I got a trailer hitch put onto my car. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it made me happy. Now I can go to the Recycling Center whenever they are open.

On a recent trip, my son and I watched other residents struggle shoveling mulch and dirt into their trunks and mini vans. I happily forked the mulch into my little old red trailer.

The Recycling Center has changed a great deal since my earlier visits. The new facilities for Public Works are pretty impressive. (Our tax dollars at work.) 

I must say I miss the piles of stuff and scrap lumber though. It was always fun to check those out. (Once a nice worker even let me retrieve a plaid metal lunch box from the scrap metal heap!)

Kids loved the idea of bringing home wood for a fort or tree house. It was truly a Recycling Center back then!

If you like to garden or if you have a lot of mature trees on your lot, may I recommend the humble trailer and hitch. They have more than paid for themselves at our homestead. 

Links: 

I heard this morning that one gas station in the Milwaukee area hit $4.00/gallon for gasoline this morning. What better time for the 2008 Bike to Work Week?

There are different special events this week including a bike tail gate and bike drive in movie (about bikes!)

I have often noted a bicycle parked by the back door of City Hall, so at least one Brookfield worker already does bike to work. He must be a hearty soul though, because I have seen that bike even in the dead of winter!

Hopefully the weather will cooperate this week if you are able to give bike to work a chance. 

Links:

Today is Earth Day, a day our family holds in special regard--in a tongue in cheek way.

You see, today is the only day of the year that Jiminy Cricket appears at Walt Disney World* in costume. We discovered that by accident on a family vacation about ten years ago. It has become a novel attraction if we happen to be there on this day ever since.

I dug out a pin and sticker from 2 Earth Day's of yore. The pin shows CFLs, saving water, and using bikes as ways we can be more environmentally minded, or as Jiminy says, Environmentality.

His sticker caption reads, "Every Little Bit Makes a Big Difference." 

That slogan reminded me of a German saying my grandmother used to quote, "Ya ya, every little bit helps said the frog as he peed into the Rhine" (River). She would say it in German, but that was the gist of the translation.

It was funny because it contrasted the sincerity of the frog's belief with the absurdity of the frog's actual contribution of his liquid making a difference to the Rhine River.

Yet this is the message of some environmentalists and global warming preachers. That by changing a light bulb or bringing your own cloth grocery bag to the store, that we can save the planet.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things I think we should be doing better. We waste a lot in this country, and as a frugal person, I hate waste of any kind. But I think we only truly believe what we really put into action.

Do people's actions reflect their beliefs? Some people are trying to "green" up their lives. Others are not. Some people make no attempt to be environmentally friendly; some only talk a good line.

I caught part of Vicki McKenna's radio program today. It was all about Earth Day and Global Warming. Listen to her podcast for a sobering look at where all this Global Warming legislation is leading. (Tuesday Hour Two Part Two 4-22-08)

On a lighter note, she discussed an email that has been circulating that compares Al Gore's home to President Bush's Texas ranch. (I received a similar one last month but the photo of Al's house was not the same.)

The perception is that Al Gore is the environment's friend, while George Bush is the environment's enemy.  

So how do the two compare?

According to the Snopes Urban Legend site, the email is basically true: Al's house does use 12 times the amount of electricity as the average new American house. (Their mansion is only 4 times the size of the average new home.)

The Gore's say that they compensate for that in that they pay an additional $432 on their electric bills to get this power from Green sources. Their home's excessive energy use follows the same incongruity of the Gore's Nobel Peace Prize celebration dinner featuring foods flown in from all over the world.

So who really has Environmentality?

UPDATE: You really cannot make this stuff up. Take a look at Cindy Kilkenny's  Heh Heh. Al Gore caught faking evidence 

*Walt Disney World does use a number of environmentally friendly practices. Their mosquito control, for example, utilizes swallow birds and I think bats to consume the numerous pests.

Links: 4th Annual Weed Out, May 3rd, Mary Knoll Park

Kinsey Park Clean Up and Pier