To quote my second favorite Muppet, Kermit the Frog, “It ain’t easy being green.” At least that is what I used to think. But in honor of Earth Day I am here to rid you doubters of your non-green demons. As you know or as your calendar has hopefully has told you, today is Earth Day. According to Wikipedia.org, Earth Day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin on April 22, 1970. The purpose of the day is to create awareness and promote ways for citizens to become more environmentally friendly. I used to call this “green guilt” and would not even acknowledge the day existed. Plus I was still in post-party mode from my birthday. I did not want my sugar-high, from cake, disrupted. But this year I have spent more time educating myself on simple ways to become a better steward of the earth. Here are some of my achievements: 1. I use canvas bags when I shop and have rid my house of all plastic bags. 2. I take my newspapers to The Hutchinson News to be recycled. I am trying to read more publications online but this will take some time. Plus I like working the Sudoku puzzle in the paper every morning. 3. At work I have cut scrap paper in half to use at notepads. 4. I drink my water from a reusable cup rather than from paper or Styrofoam. Yes, that means I need to wash my cup. But dishpan hands never hurt anyone. 5. I am learning how to compost at home so I can create natural fertilizer for the garden I hope to build this spring. I realize these achievements are not groundbreaking or will not reduce my carbon footprint by leaps and bounds. But if you knew my practices from a year ago, you would be very proud. So in honor of Earth Day, take some time to educate yourself about greener methods, start recycling at home or take some time to sing your favorite John Denver song. (For some reason I associate John Denver with the environment.) But we all want to become better citizens of the world and improving yourself environmentally is a great step in that direction.

Comments 

Yea for all the little things ... those make the difference. Now, if I could just remember to bring my canvas bags into the store!

Way to go, Lisa! I jumped on the bandwagon recently too and I don't know why it took me so long. It makes sense and parents should really be setting an example for their children to be better stewards of our Earth. I was glad to see Early Ed, my daughter's preschool, celebrate Earth Day and teach the importance of recycling. I felt proud when my two year old was playing in her kitchen, used a play green beans can and turned to me and said, "it's empty, I need to put it in the recycling." So now, I need to make them pretend recycling bins for the play kitchen.

We have a fabulous recycling program right here in our town! We need to get more people on board to use it! My kiddo celebrated Earth Day at his school and he was so excited to tell his teacher that we recycle at our house. It's all about the little things.

Add a comment

Your Name:
Title:
Comment:
Match these characters:	Security Code: