How Walking is Stimulating My Economy

My father is a geologist. He has never ascribed to any one philosophical, political, or economic camp of ideas. So I was a little surprised that, when I brought up that I thought green technologies could help the economy, he responded decisively that he thought the economy should be allowed to fix itself when it comes to energy. But I was even more surprised that I agreed.

I answered, "Dad, the economy has been fixing itself with me for the last five or six years."

My decision to devote any volunteer hours I could to green and conservation issues did not come from a need to sort of have something to protest about. Nor did it come from any political banners hoping to capitalize on a new and engaging platform. It came from a sudden bout with my health.

As a college athlete, I was able to put myself through school on a partial scholarship to play basketball. Although I was never the picture of health of, say, a U.S. Olympian, I had always tempered my work with being active. This would make it hard to accept an eminent diagnosis of intestinal disease two years later, but because doctors at first assumed I had a worried stomach, they advised I do something about my stress levels. Regardless of my plans to teach overseas and cut back on coaching basketball, more intense problems arose. I had seen so many doctors already as the symptoms changed that I continued with my plans to join an international sort of teaching circuit, convinced that doctors would not find anything new. So I went overseas anyway, selling my car, giving up my dog, and looking forward to a career of new experiences.

I would return much sooner than I wanted and in dire condition.

Digestive disorders are on the rise. Celiac Disease cases, Bacterial Colitis, and Crohn's disease are three horrifying examples of this among young people, the affluent, and some ethnic groups. These cases of IBD don't seem to exist in third world countries, and they barely reveal themselves in the "Second" world.

Enter one of the most expensive situations a young person can face in the wake of newly-found under employment on the horizon of the American Healthcare debate.

Although eating healthy food alone would not be a "cure," I wanted to at least get better habits to encourage healing. Overseas, I had walked to the market every two days for my groceries and loved it. I had cursed my inability to give directions to cabbies and find American Fast Food, and I cursed my inability to read instructions on boxes. But my problems solved themselves on my plate. What do you do when you can't read instructions on a box to mix salad dressings and you can't order take-out over the phone? You buy lots of veggies and whole, raw foods, and you steam them, bake them, and boil them. And you manage your life around the health of your table.

So when I came back to Lincoln with no car and new health problems, I had to continue without a car, and knew I could manage well. I would later get a job downtown and buy a house near my favorite grocery and my job. I carpooled, walked, and later biked.

My partner and I now share one car, and we cook a lot of our own food. According to the AAA, the average person spends $9,641 per year for the privilege of driving. Keep in mind that these estimated costs are based on an average gasoline cost of $2.256 per gallon. The numbers also don't include the cost of parking. So by sharing the expense of one car, we do have the freedom of going to doctor's appointments when needed, or we can visit friends across town. But we can turn around and invest nearly $10,000 into our home, health, and savings.

And that is how my own economy has been "fixing" itself.

As a result, I had become "greener." And the walking and biking made my doctor bills get better.

So I am utterly, unflaggingly convinced that walking was the silver bullet that stimulated my economy--so much more has come from the simple act of walking that I'm sure I will write more about it in the future. But most importantly, using less energy for the simple things in life stimulated my overall well-being. And that is what convinced me to support the movement towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Has "going green" helped you save green? Where did you start to take action? Join our discussion: "Has going green stimulated your economy?"

If you have only recently embarked on changing your lifestyles, here are a couple of places to start taking action now:

Lincoln Electric Systems Money Saving Tips
How to Go Green: Treehugger
Pick 5 for the Environment: the US EPA
8 Easy Ways to Save Hundreds This Year
My Space: Our Planet