Chico, Sustainable

Hello, my name is Jeremy.
Hello, Jeremy!
I am addicted to television.
It has been almost two years since I have lived in a place that had a TV, but the one-eyed monster still calls to me at hotels, pizza joints, my mom's house, the electronics section at Circuit City. . .

Like most children of the '80's, the number of hours I spent in front of the TV is mind-boggling. I "won" an award my freshman year of college for being the most likely person to be seen watching television.

I am since glad I have seen the light. Of day.

Of course not all television programming is mindless. There are shows that give us various versions of the news, that provide us with insight and information, and inspire conversation. Though I would say this accounts for less than 1% of the programming available to the average American.

What does this have to do with sustainability? Its just that there are so many better things a person can do with one's time. Time is not a renewable resource. And besides, the world needs doers, not TV zombies.

But what about time to just sit down, unwind, veg-out, and not think? What about watching something for pure entertainment purposes, like "Survivor," "The Simpsons," or a football game?

As much as I would like to list off a plethora of other things a person might do to unwind (like reading a book, or gardening), I have to admit the thought of watching an hour of "The Simpsons" will always be very appealing. But I would ask, is there something else that you can do while watching TV that is sufficient mindless such that you can still follow the program but is at the same time productive? How can the time be made just a little more useful?

Here are some simple thoughts:
--Food preparation (shelling walnuts, peeling potatoes, etc.)
--Knit
--Exercise/stretch
--Fold laundry
--Clip coupons
--Mend clothes
--Sort and roll loose change
--Organize collections (cd's, photo albums, crafts supplies, etc.)

But please, don't eat a meal while watching TV, especially a family meal. This is like adding butter and sour cream to the couch potato. Both the food and any people you are with deserve better.