Earth Day Everyday
By Janet Long
Earth day was created to educate and inspire respect for the environment and the first one was celebrated on April 22nd, 1970. It has continued to be a staple for environmental health in over 170 countries. Although the human population has taken great strides to cut back on pollution and promote eco-friendly lifestyles, being Earth Aware on one day is not enough.
Thankfully, the philosophy behind Earth Day is one that can be practiced on a daily basis, and the best part is you don’t need to drastically change your life style to accommodate respecting our planet. Here are a few simple things you can practice to show your appreciation for Earth:
Walk or ride a bike when journeying short distances: Did you know that short distance commutes waste more gasoline than driving down the freeway? A cold car engine produces around 60% more fumes than a warm car engine. So instead of leaving home to make a quick trip down the street, why not take a stroll or ride your bike? Not only is this beneficial for the environment and your car’s health, but it’s also a great chance to get some exercise. If that’s not your thing, then wait until you need to run numerous errands before stopping at the store to get that one necessity. Save gas money the next time you buy a car by thinking “smart cars” or “hybrids”.
Donate: Do you have some old computer parts lying around the house? What about clothes that no longer fit you? Instead of making their permanent home a landfill, donate them to an organization that can that can put them to good use. You’d be amazed at what some people throw away – everything from bathtubs to books. But the truth is, there’s no place such as “away”. Every day, roughly 690,000 tons of materials are dumped in landfills. You can profit by recycling. By selling the things that you are accustomed to throwing away, try E-bay, and by buying used, you can make money and spend less!
Recycle: Recycling is a special responsibility here in America, where we produce more than a third of the world’s garbage: 4.5 pounds of trash per person every day. This ends up in landfills and emits harmful gases and pollutants into surrounding soil and water. Simply make sure all your recyclables end up in the proper recycling can. Think of things you have in your house that you can recycle before buying anything new and search for manufacturers who make biodegradable products. From G-diapers for infants to Celestial Seasonings teas, reward the do-gooders. If every household in the United States replaced just one four-pack of 400-sheet virgin fiber toilet paper with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save: 1,450,000 trees, 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 5,500 full garbage trucks, 523 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 4,10 families of four, and avoid 89,000 pounds of pollution! Seventh Generation’s recycling-fiber toilet paper costs less per square foot!
Clean Green: The average US Household shells out roughly $600 a year on 40 pounds of chemical cleaning supplies. Yet, for about $20/year, you can replace every cleaning product in your house with a safer, non-toxic, biodegradable homemade version using common ingredients like baking soda, club soda, vinegar, and salt. It is a huge irony that the products we buy to keep our homes clean are a source of poisonous chemicals – toxins that cause cancer, asthma, and other lung problems. Chemical cleaning supplies are an $18 billion industry, and they not only threaten our health, they also end up in our rivers, oceans, soil and air. For pre- made cleansers you can go to www.shaklee.com or www.seventhgeneration.com, but buying a box of baking soda and a bottle of vinegar will make your house shine just as well!
If we’re to continue existing on a beautiful, nurturing planet, it’s the small actions we take everyday that will make the biggest impact in maintaining our environment. What action will you take today?
