I’m excited for Earth day even though my heart aches for Gaia every day. We human's need to make some changes, and make them now. Many people do not recognize the drastic and varying ramifications of their personal daily living habits. I'm not perfect, but I am conscious of my faults, such as how I waste water when I dye my hair (rinsing out the dye can take a long fucking time), but I still do it. It pains me to see waste and pollution everywhere: from the amount of cardboard, among many other products, my company wastes in a day (and this is a large corporation and I’m only witness to one store’s waste) to the number of children I see liter without being scolded by their parents and told to pick it up and hold onto it until there is a trashcan. I could go on forever: big cars that people do not NEED; Styrofoam’s prominent usage in a Fast Food and To-Go nation; the lack of enthusiasm about alternative and renewable energy; the unfortunate amounts of waste we produce from buying packaged foods and other items . Since no one is environmentally perfect, I suggest everyone make one or MORE Earth Day Resolutions, but of course not for just the day. Try doing something you think you can manage longer term, but even small changes are a start! Feel free to tell us what you are already doing to make the environment a cleaner place, it may give other people ideas and knowledge is power! One more suggestion, albeit somewhat pretentious it might propel some changes in behaviors: spread knowledge in any way. Remind a friend, coworker, or stranger that it’s Earth Day. If you have the courage and it doesn’t seem too rude (or pretentious, butt fuck it-it's Gaia we're talking about), correct someone’s mistake (such as when someone liters or throws a plastic bottle away when there is a recycle bin in the same room or down the hall) . I recycle at home, pick up trash almost any place i go- the floor board of the rear seat in my car is always filled with recyclable products that I find on the sides of roads or in parking lots. I take fast showers, except when I dye my hair I also collect as many recylable materials (that my store will otherwise throw away) and take that home to recycle. My car is TINY so I never take as much as I'd like. I thrive on my Nalgene and Camelback products in order to reduce my plastic bottle usage in the first place! Try it! As a double whammy, for those who drink sodas try cutting down, you might FEEL better and you might be reducing your waste. I use reusable bags for grocery shopping. I even find cute ones that I can packages presents in so that I can encourage others to do the same! I drive a car that averages over 30 mpg thank GOODNESS! I am about to move and as I prepare to do so I am intentionally looking for places within a short distance of where I will be working so that I waste less fuel on transportation. Last night I made lasagna for dinner. When I discarded the plastic bag that the cheese comes in, it caused me to start thinking about how many of those my family goes through in a month. My mind just spiraled at that point, and holy hell all can think is, Poor, poor mother earth . In terms of resolutions: I usually unplug some products when not in use, but not always. So from now on I am going to unplug things I'm not using- it'll save me money too. I will continue to (almost) always have a trash bag on me so that I can pick up all sorts of shit. I will have a bag or a couple of reusable bags that I will use for ALMOST all of my shopping (not just groceries) My long term goal is to grow the majority of my own food (gradually over time)and I think this will reduce many of the waste materials from food, but not completely because obvious some things have to be purchased. In a similar fashion I will buy organically and locally when I can afford to. This will benefit my health and the Earth. I will not use pesticides in the lawn at my new house, and I have convinced my parents to stop too, I hope they can stick to that. It makes the grass luscious and vibrantly green, but we are less than 2 acres from a river. Water pollution = no good! COMPOST, my mom does- I help, but my goal is to start composting ASAP Ok I’m almost done, but I am going to keep brainstorming more resolution ideas for myself. Before I go I have one more recommendation! Watch the Disney produced movie OCEANS! It’s not only beautiful and stunning, it open’s your eyes- if you’re willing to let them open. :sunny:
I do this as well! :2thumbsup: Also, I ride my bike almost everywhere I go, and when I shower I'm quick as well, when I'm washing I turn off the tap just to save that extra water! :biggrin:
