My way of looking at things

Oh great, another tree-hugging, environmental fanatic who’s going to me that the planet’s in trouble and he has all the answers (which happen to be the same as everyone else’s answers). Well guess what? Not this time. I’m not the type to tell anyone what to do unless I’ve tried it myself or personally know someone who has. Okay, who am I then? Well, I’m just your average guy with an average family. I go to work five days a week to pay the bills. I watch sports. I play with my kids. I work on my lawn. I like to have a few beers every now and then. I’m just an AVERAGE JOE. The only difference is, I believe we can do almost everything green in our lives. And I believe it can be done for the same amount of money or less. In this column, I hope to connect with people just like myself — average, honest, hard-working people. After talking with people over the years, it occurred to me that the "average joes" are the people who are going to make the green movement actually work and succeed. In order for that to happen, we need information about what actually works and what doesn't, so we don't go broke in the process. Is a product or service that says it's green, actually green? And if it is, what's the payback or benefit? Does it cost as much as a commercial product and if not, why should I spend the money? My goal is to show proof of what works through personal actions of my own or people that I know. I will not tell you what to do, will not tell you that you're killing the planet. I want to prove by action and share positive green ideas. If a product, service or idea doesn't work, I'll call that out, too. I also believe in partnerships. We need to be able to partner with each other to reach our end goal. There's a lot of organizations out there that have the same goal with different view points. If all different religious organizations, governmental agencies, individuals, and local profit and nonprofit organizations could work together, think of what we could all accomplish. We can make this a better world without spending a ton of money and without giving up quality. I invite you to join me in this endeavor. So average Joes and Janes, let's get to work!