Celebrate Earth Day!

Today was Earth Day. A few weeks ago, having been reminded that this day was on the horizon, I did a little online research and was astounded to find out that Earth Day is actually 40 years old. For some reason I have always thought of most "green initiative" activiites as being relatively new, and I suppose that in the scheme of things 40 years old is relatively new (and if that's true, then 33 years old is down right infantile). Maybe the reason that this surprised me so much is that I've never really paid all that much attention to Earth Day. The concept of Earth Day always brings to mind a conversation I remember having with my mother about Grandparents Day: I asked her, umpteen years ago, why, if there such events as Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Grandparent's Day, wasn't there a Kid's Day? Here answer was that every day is kid's day. Just the same, shouldn't every day be treated as Earth Day?

Maybe the best way to celebrate Earth Day is to make a pledge, on this day, to celebrate and protect our planet every day for the next year, and every year thereafter, by making just small changes one at a time. Making just one change at a time keeps me from feeling overwhelmed, and focusing on that change for an extended period of time helps me to really internalize the change, to make it a long term lifestyle change instead of a temporary one that will come and go as quickly as any fad. We have been working on making little changes for quite some time now, but the following is a list I found in an article on the Care2 website and it seems like a good place to start. I have highlighted the changes we have already made in our household, and clearly it has taken us more than a single year to complete even those changes, but whether the transformation is quick or drawn out, any improvement is better than none at all.

Months 1-3: Your Kitchen

• Replace food in kitchen with organic, whole foods.
• Replace plastic cooking utensils with wood or bamboo.
• Replace Teflon and aluminum cookware.
• Switch to nontoxic cleansers.
• Safely dispose of toxic cleansers.
• Install a water filter. (on our list for this month)

Months 4-6: Your Body

• Replace formaldehyde-treated linens with organic.
• Replace dry cleaning with laundering.
• Replace commercial wash detergents with eco-products.
• Replace skin care products with natural, organic products.
• Avoid using “disposable” products of all kinds.

Months 7-9: Your Home

• Replace toxic carpets with renewable wood or bamboo.
• Dispose of toxic pesticides for natural repellents.
• Purchase an air purifier. (on our list for this summer)
• Replace pressboard furniture with renewable wood pieces.
• Use alternative building materials for renovation projects.
• Use low VOC paints in place of toxic brands.

Months 10-12: Your Energy Use

• Drive your car less and walk, ride a bike, or share rides.
• Keep your car tuned and/or buy a hybrid.
• Wash your laundry with cold water.
• Insulate your home to cut down on energy use.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Replace commercial batteries with rechargeable batteries.