4.22.2005

Earth Day

It's today. We're about to head off on a walk, garbage bags in tow, to see if we can pick up litter by the side of the road. We've also got some planting to do.

But if you happen to be in a spot where it's not raining, consider doing something earthly after work today or over the weekend. E

very tree on this earth - the live ones, that is - acts as part of the Earth's lungs. So perhaps plant a tree or at least begin thinking about how you might smartly add more trees to your property. Or clean up some litter. Or think about moving from toss-away batteries to rechargeables. Or do some research into solar energy to see if you can incorporate that into your office or home.

Sure, one day of observance isn't going to do a huge lot for Mother Earth. But if we use today as a springboard for increasing education about what may help our environment, it might make a difference.

Ecology doesn't have to be sacrifice. No one's asking you to replace your central plumbing with compost toilets. Just think a bit more and a bit smarter about the ways each of us can reduce the burden on the planet.

For example, many of us spend too much time in our cars. Some of this is unavoidable, but we also get used to just burning gas for rather silly reasons. Combine a couple of trips together and you not only save yourself some expensive gas, but you take a little slice off the smog out there and you're not expending as many rapidly depleting fossil fuels.

Another example is trying to buy more locally. Any time we buy a product made close to home, we're making at least a small difference in the amount of transportation required to deliver our lettuce from California and our berries from Florida. While we don't always have a choice, this is the time of year when more locally grown produce becomes available. Buy a little more of that.