It ain't easy being green

I don't mean to cut into Alice and Jackie's domain, but I've been reading a a lot of serious books lately, many having to do with environment.

One in particular — The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman — speculates on how the Earth would change if humans were to completely disappear. Houses would eventually crumble, streets would turn into rivers, forest and wildlife would reclaim what was theirs.

But there are some things that will be around for quite a while, like plastic bags.

So in my small way, I've started thinking green. I bought a couple of reusable shopping bags for groceries and, for the gift that keeps on giving, I now use biodegradable bags to pick up after Kate.

I was using food-grade gallon-size bags to collect and dispose of dog waste — an average of three a day.

Made from corn, the biodegradable bags are pricey, so I ordered a bunch from a national pet store chain who had them on sale. And there are Web sites that also sell the dog-waste bags, as well as other biodegradable home products.

Maybe if more people start using them the price will come down.

Now I'll have to work on the apartment complex setting aside some space for composting.