Eyes on the Green Prize

Again, as many days, I feel compelled to comment at the Sierra Club's Green Tips. Today's tip was about refilling plastic bottles with bulk soaps, household cleaners, etc. Nice but not essential. Here's my take:

It's best not to make special trips to buy all sorts of specialty things at a dozen stores when three or four have everything you need -- making special trips to find refillables, for example. If we keep our eyes on the big picture, we're reminded that mostly making a real difference comes down to just a few things: living in town near stores and services, having one or no children, driving and flying efficiently and in modest amounts, buying generally modest things (mostly "necessities") in modest amounts, and doing whatever you can to reduce your energy use at home. Everything else is just details, fun perhaps but really just distractions from the big picture that REALLY counts.