...How We Get By

Hello World - sometimes Broke Diva's or Diva's in general, can take you for granted. There has been 'nuff noise about your situation. However I feel like most of the ideas to be "Green" are pointless or have no grounds for common sense. Nor do they fit into my budget.



You All remember Blacky Chigurh? The gi-gantor Dobbie - well he has healed himself 100% and is back to being a pain in my ass. Anyway - short of dropping him off at the nearest pound, I walk him every morning with at least 2 plastic poop-bags that I "recycled" from grocery shopping. As I bend over to pick up the horse sized dog poop, I cant help but wonder - "Am I really helping the earth this way?" Plastic bags are not biodegradable - however I need to curb my dog. But what about if he shits on grass? Is his poop not good for the soil? Is it better to not pick up after him or fill the dumps with more waste that will just sit there for years and years to come? So - I decided not to pick up his poop if he goes on the dirt or the grass. I still think it's gross to walk down the street and see dog shit - don't be fooled, folks in Hollywood DO NOT CURB THEIR DOG'S! And I don't think it's because they feel an urge to give back to the earth - they just don't care if I step in FiFi's poo in my $450 Neil Barrett Pumas!



Anyway, the point is if I buy the eco-friendly poop bags - that is an added expense in itself.



Washing dishes has also been challenging to this Broke Diva's earthly conscious. If I wash them by hand I use too much water - however if I use the dishwasher I save more water use - but increase my energy usage and utility bill - that is also not in the budget. Somehow I have got to come to a happy medium. Driving cars, polluting the air, travel, making shoes, eating out, burning oil, burning money - this is how we get by. As Creative Director I have the opportunity to say how we operate. So I took it back to the old school - the time of pencil and drawing pad, marker paper and prisma colors. I thought, "here is a way I can conserve energy." But because everything is so rushed these days, I had to resort to using the computer more to render designs faster. But this is how we get by.



I try to conserve but it seems that the more I do the more I realize how much this Broke Diva does to the environment. Being broke forces you to be conservative and reuse and recycle. Hell, I recycle the kids clothes, there was one denim outfit that was used on all 4 of them! I recycle toys and make works of art, whatever I can, but I still feel like I am not even creating a dent, especially if we use the car too much or if I have the heat on all night because it gets hell-a cold.
Don't get me started on make-up and testing and the fact that rhino's and bears are becoming endangered.

I designed an eco-friendly shoe for Ed Hardy but no matter how much hemp was used or recycled rubber this and sustainable low ink that, could not compare to the toxins that exploded through the air from the manufacturing process.



How about the process used to print the paper that I attain from the bank on pay day? Or washing dishes by hand vs dishwasher - do I want to save water or save money? Poop on my shoes or poop trapped in a land-fill? Take the train to work and save on gas - but now that the NY MTA has raised the fare, how about just driving the car for the same price? An eco-friendly t-shirt at $40 or a not-so-friendly t-shirt at $20...This is how we get by.



How can a Broke Diva make a real difference? Perhaps the only way is to do as much as you can with what you can. Otherwise turn in your Matt Berson's for handmade mocs and head for the mountains - give up your blackberries, train some messenger pigeons and live off the fat of the land in your beautiful wooden lodge and brick burning fireplace. Wow, that sounds lovely. Wonder if those mocs come in pink? Well, now that would not be PC - that would require harsh dyes and chemicals...darn it!



tg