Life as an Accidental EcoNaut

I suppose a wonderful place to start this adventure would be to explain how I came to call myself an "Accidental EcoNaut."

The first few years of my relative independence have found me in a lifestyle that even by Orange County standards could be considered eco-eccentric: I don't own a car or a television, my diet contains very little meat, I line-dry my clothes, and the vast majority of my possessions belonged to someone else first. Granted, most of these habits are due largely to poverty (thus the 'accidental'), but I'd like to think that Mother Nature would be pleased that I allowed my poverty to manifest so kindly in her favor. This is still an experiment, an exploration (thus the 'EcoNaut'), but it'd definitely a part of my life that's here to stay. 

I suppose I took after my grandmother, who grew up in World War II and currently fills her time with crocheting grocery bags into doormats and other resource-happy crafts. A vague consciousness of myself as part of a bigger system has always rested toward the front of my skull. The real turning-point in allowing this to affect my life was breaking into relative adulthood and understanding on a new level the preciousness of resources, and my responsibility to use them properly. I've come to recognize time in particular as a valuable gift, one that should be treasured, and used to tend to myself, my immediate environment (my apartment), my larger environment (Spaceship Earth), my family, my community, my society, my species... and with this came the realization that all of these interests do not conflict. Any proper way of tending to myself must also contribute to the well-being of my family, my society, and my planet. 

There's a lot more I could (and probably will) say about this, but it seemed fitting to kick off this blog with a brief explanation of one important aspect of my worldview and lifestyle.

Ely the EcoNaut, over and out!