How I got here

Adjusting back to the modern world has been a challenge, to say the least.  After ten months living in the bush at a remote field site, I was pumped to come back and take full advantage of access to unlimited food, entertainment, people, and internet.  Then I got back and realized how sheltered I had been in Kenya.  The lack of media and our inability to use up resources that were not available had led me to spend ten months hardly thinking about the environment.  I was aware that the BP oil spill had happened and I had somehow gotten myself under the impression that it had woken up a person or two.  After months home I started realizing how little had changed while I was gone. 
I began to get into heated discussions with people close to me and then just those unlucky enough to be cornered by me after a few drinks.  Most of these conversations escalated into some sort of exclamation that we're all going to hell in a hand-basket and no one is even bothering to do anything about it.  One exceptionally worked-up night, I went into a frenzy complaining about how everyone was willing to sit around talking about the problems, but no one was getting off their lazy posteriors to do the really simple things that would make a great deal of difference if everyone got on the same page and did it.
That's when two things occurred to me.  1) Most people don't do anything because saving the world is a mighty daunting task.  2) I was heading to hell in a hand-basket with the rest of "most people."  I was just as daunted and loved sitting around talking about how screwed we all are as much as the next guy.  I hadn't gotten off my own posterior in awhile either.
I needed to find a way to light a fire under my posterior, get myself out of the hypocrite hand-basket, and hopefully make some sort of difference.  Even if I wasn't going to change the world, I at least needed to change my life if I was going to live with myself.  (I'll admit a large part of the motivation lies in being able to talk a big talk without anyone being able to call me out for not walking the big walk.)
Changing your life by altering your behavior is daunting, though.  An amazing mentor of mine once made the point that no one can be expected to wake up one morning and suddenly change every part of their wasteful lifestyle.  These things must be done one step at a time, until your new behavior becomes habit.  To make things less daunting for myself, I'm going to start with one smallish goal a month, one piece of my behavior that I am going to alter for the sake of Mother Earth (and my fellow man, and my children's, children's, children, and all that). 
This cliched dip into the world of blogging is going to be a big part of that.  I can tell myself a thousand times "next time I'll take a shorter shower" but when it really comes down to it, that shower feels damn good and without someone looking over my shoulder and keeping track of my progress, that "next time" is never going to come.
You are all welcome to stick around and keep me honest.  If you want to join in on my little experiment, please feel free, and feel free to share your own progress here as well.  We start March 1st.