Environmentalism

Ok. So I don't really know where I fall in the political scheme of things. I know I'm not Republican and I know I'm not Democrat... I land somewhere in the middle.

That being said, I think we really should take better care of our planet, and NO I don't think trees should have the same rights as people... I'm nutty, but no that nutty.

The big oil spill in the gulf is horrifying, I'm glad BP is at least being inventive with how to fix the darned problem (hopefully before it gets 5000X worse). I really hope and pray their attempt works. The mess this is making is beyond my comprehension. As it is I look at some of the strip mining around SLC and think it's a tragedy and have a hard time comprehending the damage of THAT, let alone how many oodles of gallons of raw oil gushing into the ocean...

That being said, there isn't a whole lot little ol' me can do about all of that.

I mean, I try to be mindful of the resources I use in my day to day life, but with 3 kids and an income that only stretches so far I find myself at a loss. I really wish I could afford solar cells for the roof of my house, but honestly by the time they pay for themselves isn't it about time to replace them? Or am I behind the times?

I have a hard time knowing what things the average person can do to truly have less of a negative impact on the world around them. I'm so glad that society has stopped advocating the use of plastic and paper bags for groceries, instead pointing towards reusable bags. The problem is that I don't know how much of an impact even those make. (speaking of, anyone have a good idea where to get cheap ones?)

It's like this, "they" say that driving electric cars will be more environmentally friendly... I'm also confused about this, because the electricity has to come from somewhere! In this case usually a hook up through home. Where does the power from our homes come from? Usually coal plants. So, burn coal, or burn gas... GAH. The whole thing really makes me  wish my city was more bike friendly. As it is, it's busy 50MPH roads and no bike lanes with young children... risk assessment for me = too high. I don't want my kids thinking it's okay to ride along those roads when I'm not around at very least!

I don't know... is anyone as lost as I am on this front? I feel pretty darned clueless. Anyone have any good sources for info on things like this? You know... straight forward "layman's" terms and as non politically slanted as possible?