A sharper focus

"What you think is mere coincidence in life is usually just a matter of a different focus."

Those insightful words came from my dad in an e-mail after he read my blog about my green Christmas gifts (reusable bags and for my mom, a SIGG aluminum water bottle). My dad said that after reading my blog, he noticed that one of the secretaries in his office had a reusable plastic water bottle on her desk, and they got into a conversation about it. "I never noticed this before. Coincidence? I think not. I was more focused."

I sometimes wonder why I'm blogging about my environmental efforts, but if reading one of my posts is the extra inspiration someone needs to make a change, then that's reason enough. I started a blog because as a former reporter and now editor, I saw blogging as a way to keep up with my writing. As for a topic, I decided to write about environmentalism because it was the most recurring issue on my mind. I was talking about it to my co-workers, trying to make changes to my lifestyle, seeing stories about it in the news and wanted to be part of it all. I see its purpose as informing others through my personal experiences. I don't know everything and I'm not perfect, but what I do know and what I have done, I'll tell you about. Since my family members are probably my only regular readers, it makes sense that they might be most influenced, or at least more focused on the issue. My sister also wrote to me that she saw a woman in the gym with a SIGG bottle.

I got another e-mail a few days later from my dad. After balking at my description of him as an old dog (commenting on the nylon grocery bag I got him, I wondered if you can "teach an old dog new tricks"), he said he wanted to buy a reusable water bottle but that he was confused between plastic and aluminum. He asked for my suggestion on what kind to buy. Since I want my blog to be informative (along with hopefully slightly entertaining), I'm reprinting what I told him. Like I said, I'm not an expert but whatever I've learned I'm happy to share.

"To be on the safe side, everyone is buying aluminum (SIGG) or stainless steel (Kleen Kanteen) bottles, which are proven to not leach anything bad into your water. Whole Foods sells SIGG water bottles in all sorts of colors and designs. Or you can buy one online at http://www.mysigg.com/ or http://www.kleankanteen.com/. But you may want to buy it from the store so you can see what size you want. And they have different tops. Some SIGGs come with a screw on cap, which to me seems like kind of a pain. Others have a rounded sports bottle-style top so you don't have to screw off the cap to drink out of it. Even if you don't buy a lot of bottled water, it's handy to have a water bottle because if you fill it up in the morning before leaving for work, you're more likely to drink water throughout the day. And you can bring it with you when you go golfing or out for a walk, etc."

So dad, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for calling you an old dog. And if you get an aluminum water bottle before I do, then I'll really have to grovel.