Mission Statement:
Green and Grumpy is a blog that tackles sustainable living with a sense of humor, because going green can often be difficult, frustrating and confusing. Our readers are everyday, real, imperfect people striving to do the best they can to live a more sustainable lifestyle. We are NOT living-in-a-commune-with-no-electricity-vegan-zero-waste-environmental-nazis. (Not that we have anything against vegans, living in a commune or whatever. More power to you if you have committed to that lifestyle. We just don’t expect that everyone has to follow a path that restrictive.) We welcome anyone trying to do better and be greener. We keep things civil and do not tolerate bullying, shaming or berating.
What this blog is about:
I started this blog because I am always trying to find ways to create less waste and live more sustainably, but constantly found myself coming up against frustrating questions like, “Can I recycle this?” or “Is this product safe for the environment?” or “These eggs are organic and cruelty free, but they are packaged in plastic, and these over here are probably factory-raised but I can recycle the container. Which one is better?” And why do so many of these environmental blogs, sites and groups make me feel like a terrible person to even pose the question about the eggs in the first place – “What??? You eat EGGS??? Anyone who eats animal products doesn’t REALLY care about the environment.” Ugh. Thanks alot Judgy von GreenerThanThou.
I decided that I really wanted to try to find answers to more of my sustainability questions and come up with better solutions and product choices. And I figured if I’m taking the time to do that, maybe I should share what I find because surely there are plenty of other regular people out there who have many of the same questions that I do. And so Green and Grumpy was born.
About Author Eileen Burns:
I live with my partner in a small house in Lakewood, Ohio, which is a great, dense, walkable former streetcar suburb with old historic houses, one of which we live in. I got a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Bowling Green State University in 1994 and since then have tried (with varying degrees of failure and success) to live lightly on the planet.
I am always learning about sustainability and working on staying up-to-date on environmental issues. I am also a member of the 2019 class of “Master Recyclers” through Cuyahoga County’s Master Recycler Program.
I love to garden, although our lot is not very large, but I grow as much as I can. I do a variety of freelance work from home mostly, building and maintaining websites, managing social media and other types of administrative work for clients. I also sing, and I have a swing band called Red Light Roxy. I do eat meat, although I am trying to cut back. I also love reading, mostly nonfiction, mysteries and thrillers.