You say it’s your Earth Day…well it’s my Earth Day too, yeah…
I’m a bit of an earthnerd. I like to research all those things we can do to reduce our environmental impact. I tend to get a little ca-razy. I have been known to scoop water outta the sink and pour it outside under my trees, rather than letting it run down the drain. In a drought, I’m willing to do whatever I can to save water. I imagine that my past lives involved the Depression and/or being a Pioneer.
These aren’t quite so intense. These are the 8 easy-peasy things we can do to be a little kinder to Gaia. (That’s Earth’s hippiename.) A hippie in small town Nebraska knows her way around keeping it simple.
1. Turn stuff off. Unplug! Lights, electronics, anything that plugs in. Our entertainment center plugs into a surge protector, and when we aren’t using it, we unplug the whole thing. Unplug the microwave, the coffeemaker and other kitchen appliances, the stereo, turn off the computer, don’t have the electronics charging unless they NEED to be charged. When you walk out of a room, hit the lights.
2. Eat one vegetarian (or *GASP* vegan) meal a week. It IS so easy! Grilled cheese is vegetarian. Make tacos with black beans instead of meat. Same thing for chili! Growing animals takes a lot of water, and increases greenhouse gases (cow farts are methane). Just reducing the amount of meat in your diet reduces your carbon footprint.
3. Group your errands together. Rather than running errands several times a day or week, try to pare down as much as you can. If you have a couple errands on one side of town, wait until you can do them all at once. You’ll feel good about your newfound efficiency and you’ll have more time for yourself!
4. Ride your bike. You’ll get to move your body from place to place rather than in the gym, and you’ll give the car a rest. My favorite thing about summer Saturdays is biking across town to the farmer’s market, loading up my backpack and taking my goodies home! I’m fairly lazy by nature, but I really look forward to that ride. Many communities are becoming more bikefriendly, some even have bikes available to borrow or rent!
5. Buy in bulk. It’s cheaper, and you can put stuff in your own pretty containers. Saves on packaging too! More and more stores are offering excellent bulk options, and it’s often much fresher than stuff on the shelves.
6. Use things until they are DONE. Yeah, our TV is the old tube kind. But the picture is clear and it hooks up to all our gadgets! Until it stops working, we’ll stick with it. Clothes don’t get pitched until they are either stained or worn out. And if I just don’t like an article of clothing any more, I’ll donate it or give it to a friend.
7. Practice all 3 of the Rs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycle is the last in the list. Try to do them all! Reduce your consumption, reuse (plastic containers are great for leftovers) and then recycle.
8. Don’t be hard on yourself. Life is short. If you accidentally threw something away that you meant to recycle, don’t fret about it. There’s always next time! If you get all wound up in what you’re doing ‘wrong’, you forget about all the things you’re doing RIGHT!
Caring about the Earth is the first and most important step. Give thanks to whomever you thank for this lovely little globe we inhabit.
Namaste!