A Sustainable Journey: Lifestyle Changes to Political Activism

By Sonja Fritts

Our journeys are never straight. We start from different points with different knowledge. As mothers, we are pulled in numerous directions, our energy and time spread thin. As you begin your journey, take small steps and leap when you are ready.

The Small Steps

I live on Bainbridge Island with my husband, Mike, and three kids, Kieran (6), Ingrid (3), and Elsa (2) and make family life sustainable by trying one new thing at a time. Once we incorporate that change into our lifestyle, we move onto the next new thing.  Many of our changes are seen at the dinner table.  We purchase produce and eggs from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm and bulk food monthly from a wholesaler.  We planted our first garden this year. I made many mistakes but did grow corn, bush beans, pole beans, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, snap peas, lettuce, carrots and beats - a great feat for someone who has killed every house plant I owned!

The Leap

Recently, I unwittingly became an environmental activist. Last month, I started the Bainbridge Island CoolMom Group and I even attended a political rally and forum to raise awareness that action must be taken to curb climate change. On September 27, 2008, I attended the National Day of Action for Green Jobs Campaign and Candidate Forum in Bremerton, WA, an event hosted by the NAACP. Nearly every candidate representing most of Kitsap County attended the forum to answer citizens's questions.

In 2007, the Washington State Legislature created a grant program for green jobs training but did not appropriate funding. 1Sky Washington, a CoolMom.org partner, organized a rally before the forum to elevate the issue that action must be taken to help curb climate change by investing in green jobs and renewable energy.

As a soccer mom of three young children -- on game day! -- it was not easy to attend a political rally and forum. With the help of my husband, we juggled kids and I sprinted off with our youngest to join the rally. Wearing my CoolMom T-shirt, I grabbed a sign urging the funding of green jobs, donned my green hard hat, and entered the candidate forum.

Once the novelty of the cookie and water bottle wore off, my two year old had some loud comments of her own and I had to leave the room. I missed some of the commentary but it did not matter. I was inspired and felt an intangible energy and excitement. I stayed in the lobby with my daughter and met others who were involved in local, environmental organizations on Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula. These people are all working to reach the same goal as members of CoolMom – to reduce carbon emissions and help curb global warming.

I was most inspired by the personal stories of the real people I met who are trying to make a difference:

• Tthe grandmother whose first present to her grandchild was a onesie stating that his grandmother cared about the world for him,
• The couple who work to make low interest loans available to homeowners who want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and recently showed “The End of Suburbia",
• The businessman who is passionate about making Bainbridge Island carbon neutral in ten years and starting a door-knocking campaign to spread the word.