8,001.9 miles for G

The odometer on my car says I have driven 8,001.9 miles since I left Brooklyn for this trip in July of 2007.

In the past, Laura and a few friends have referred to me as an environmentalist. Although I do have a true love for the environment and our impact on it, I am nowhere near an environmentalist. I smoke on occasion, eat meat almost everyday, and I have been driving around the country in a carbon-spewing stink-box-on-wheels filled with plastic and leather for the last four months. The car was loaned to me for free for the project, I couldn't really complain about it. It's not like people with their bio-diesel or hybrid cars were knocking down my door. I took what I could get, and now I must pay for it.

Offsetting your carbon foot-print seems totally backwards to me. It advocates that you can pollute, get off with a slap on the wrist and not have to feel bad about it. But that doesn't fix the problem or promote any kinda of change. I say be conscious of the decisions you make and understand the effects your choices have on your environment. Now that I own a car and rely on it, I realize it's not always easy. I still do the best I can though. I don't buy bottled water, I try my damnedest not to eat fast-food, I only buy locally (If I buy anything at all), and I've even been somewhat good about last year's New Years resolution and have tried not to eat pork.

So according to climatecrises.net, If I add in my cars make and model, I have produced just under four tons of carbon since leaving Brklyn. According to them, I should give $50 to support eco-friendly causes. I've chosen to buy $50 worth of trees (that's 50 trees) and plant them in honor of my Grandfather, Bob, or as I always referred to him, G.


(center) G'ma and G'pa, Prom, 1948

G was always amazingly supportive of anything I wanted to do. He was like my best friend, and was always there if I needed something. I loved him more then anything, and it still hurts to see photos of him in the house and to know I am currently sitting twenty feet away from where he passed. Because of finances and living in NY, I had not seen my Grandpa for a while. I was three days away from visiting him here in Indiana, when he suddenly died in 2004. This was going to be the first time we could have shared a beer together, something we were both really looking forward to. He even went out and bought us a case of Bud for the occasion.

The night of his passing I walked into a little pub across from where I lived on 8th ave, and bought two beers and laid out an image of him on the bar. Although I thought about leaving one untouched, he would have thought it to be wasteful, so I downed them both, and got on a plane the next day for his funeral. I never saw my grandfather without a smile on his face, he was truly an inspiration and I am very happy to say that he would have loved seeing me on this journey, and I know he would have been my greatest supporter. These miles, even thought they are filled with dirty carbon, are most definitely for him.