I love Earth Day. While I try to be Earth friendly all year round, it’s not a bad idea to celebrate it every once in a while! I like being Earth friendly for all the obvious reasons…but one of the best reasons is the peace it brings. I’ll risk sounding like a complete hippy on this one, but when I am more aware of the impact I am making (and not making) on the Earth, I feel more peace--here on Earth. It reminds me that my time on Earth is part of a bigger picture and if I can make my impact insignificant--it makes all the small "earthly" problems insignificant. I know that line of reasoning might not make sense, but it’s a one with the Earth, one with the Universe, one with God kind of thing. Being aware of a few simple things makes life on Earth a lot more peaceful, and who wouldn’t want that?
Some things I do daily are:
-Use reusable shopping bags. (and if I forget, make sure to recycle the paper or plastic ones I have to get). Check out ChicoBag's website for some bag facts.
-Skip the paper products. I don’t buy napkins, paper plates or anything that would get thrown away. I don’t use plastic wrap or foil, just reusable containers. Yes, I do end up using water to wash my reusable goods, but I’m pretty sure they use water at the paper plate making plants, as well as fuel to ship the products etc.
-Use as little electricity as possible. Obviously this one benefits my bank account as well, but I try to use low lighting and don’t turn on lights until I am basically sitting in the dark.
-Buy organic. I think this is a very important one, mostly because it goes back to the basics and makes life seem more simple. I don’t need fruit that’s not in season or oversized strawberries. I’ll take them the way they were intended to be, and without chemicals, thanks.
-Don’t eat meat. I’ve considered myself vegetarian/semi-vegetarian for years now. I never cook meat, and rarely eat it. From Care2.com: Meat is the most resource-intensive food on the plate. It takes much more energy, water and resources to produce a pound of meat, than a pound of grain or produce. (A pound of beef can require about 12,000 gallons of water to produce, compared to 60 gallons for a pound of potatoes.) In addition, agricultural hormones and antibiotics lead to pollution of soil, air, and water.
Some things I am working on:
-Eating local. I tend to shop where it's convenient and get most of my food at Trader Joe’s. I will hopefully change that this summer when the farmer’s market opens in Hyde Park. Otherwise, I am kind of lost about how to eat locally…someone help me.
-Using a reusable coffee mug. I am the WORST at this one. I don’t have a to-go coffee cup that I love, so I don’t take them with me anywhere. I need to invest in a quality one and then use that at Starbucks, the gas station, church, wherever.
-Switching over to green cleaning, makeup, shampoo etc. I’m making progress here…and I have found that I like cleaning a lot more when I am not worried about bleach catching fire on my stove (yes, I worry about that kind of stuff) or Bella ingesting toilet bowl cleaner, or Lysol accidentally spraying in my eye and blinding me. I recently bought Shaklee’s Basic H2 which meets all of my cleaning needs and then some...and I don't freak out about inhaling death.
~These are just a few simple things that make my life...well, simpler. Try some out, or let me know what else I can do to go green. Enjoy the Earth...it's beautiful~
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