We just don’t have time for environmental solutions. The more earth-friendly an endeavor, the more time it takes. The more instant the gratification, the less environmental the product.

We have hurried lives. Transportation and communication have sped up time. Hardly anyone will opt-out for a more sedate life and hence more time but less money. This goes against every thread of ideology of our capitalist culture. But when we have more time, we can choose a longer path that is easier on the environment; we can cook from scratch, grow a garden by hand, sew clothes, walk or bike to places.

Let’s take a little test to see where we are really at with this.

• Would you rather go out to eat or move wheel barrels of manure and plant potatoes?

• Would you rather let your kid daydream in the hammock or have them go to soccer?

• Would you rather grow, pick, chop, and grate a salad or just pick one up at trader joes?

• Would you take your phone on a hike or leave it at home?

• If you forgot your bag would you choose paper, plastic, or load everything in your arms and make two trips?

  These are just a few hypothetical questions to see where any of us are really at. It goes deeper than buying organic. It is really about shifting what we value.