Earth Day 2011

Earth Day 2011 is on April 22

Earth Day is a time to reflect on the ways in which our lifestyles can be impacting the world in a negative way.  It is a time to give back to the Earth connect with nature and others that share the vision of creating a cleaner, non-toxic, thriving environment. A time for educating others on the ways in which our society has become habitual in the cycle of creating and disposing of our everyday stuff.  We all have a choice in the way we shop, the products we purchase and the way we dispose of them. It can be a fun and life changing habit change.  I think that there is a misconception that “Going Green” is difficult and costly. It is quite the contrary, it can save you money, and is just like any other lifestyle change, with time becomes easy.  The more small steps we take as a people the greater the impact on the world.  Generations of waste sits in landfills and mountainsides where trash has been dumped. Still to this day, decades later, it remains. In the USA alone 11 billion tons of solid waste are produced each year! It is time we all make a conscious decision to be responsible for our children’s future environment. As I watch all the amazing life changing events that has happened in 2011 thus far, I can image what an impact it would have on the world if we all took a stand and demanded cleaner water, cleaner air and cleaner oceans.  The events of 2010 will long remain the memories of many of us who watched as millions of gallons of oil destroyed the Gulf, destroyed the livelihood of thousands of people. Let’s make Earth Day 2011 a day of remembering our footprints on the Earth and make a choice to take action to create a more sustainable world.

There are so many ways that people celebrate Earth Day.  Festivals, local clean up crews, planting trees, music, marathons, fashion shows, tailgate markets and many more.  Finding local events in your area will help you connect with others that also share the same commitment to clean up our world.

 

Here are a few Going Green tips to help you become more Earth Friendly in your daily lives.  Feel free to add more if you have one you would like to share.

• Treat the Earth as you would your  home.  You wouldn’t dump trash inside your house.
• Reusable bags and drinking bottles – make sure it is recyclable and BPA free.
• Re-use everything that is re-usable- even aluminum foil or food container etc.
• Down-cycle I down cycle my old towels and rip them up to use as rags and it saves buying paper towels.
• Double- duty – drinking water, when someone leaves water in a glass – I water my plants or citrus cleaner when I’m done, I pour it in my toilet to leave it fresh smelling.
• Refuse non essential items when shopping- sale flyers  you won’t read, drinking straws you don’t use, or even a glass of water at a restaurant that you won’t drink.
• Un-plug cell phone charges, toaster ovens, computers etc. when not in use. They still draw electricity.
• Turn out the lights when you leave a room and only use the amount of light necessary. We use 1/3 the amount of light bulbs in our home.
• Recycle, Recycle, Recycle take the extra time to find out where to recycle items you throw in the landfill. It is estimated that only 1/10 of recyclable products are recycled in the US.
• Donate to Goodwill, Freecycle or any other charity that can use a still working product.
• Have yard sales it is a great way to earn money, meet people, and get rid of stuff that someone else can use.
• Buy used – it is one of the best ways to help cut down on the carbon footprint  it takes to produce new items.
• Take care of what you have.  It may not seem like a Green thing to do, but it is. When we take care of what we have, we don’t need to replace it as often. Or if we do replace it, it is in good condition for someone else to use.
• Use chemical free products whenever possible. Chemicals in our body products, make up and even lawn care end up in ground water and it does impact the environment in many ways from it’s production to the impact on our health and soil.
• Buy Eco friendly products that are produced in a way that has less negative impact on environment.
• Read the labels!  So many products are marketed as Green when they are not. This just furthers the issue of Greenwashing. Educate yourself on how to spot a non-green product even when the label says it’s green.
• Get envolved in local groups that help clean up your local area.
• Most importantly write our government and tell them you support Greener standards, cleaner energy and safer products

 

Earth Day can be a fun and educational time for families.  It can be a day of honoring the amazing planet we call home.  I hope you will enjoy Earth Day 2011 and celebrate greener efforts for the future.