Earth Day

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Water Down

In the civilized world we squander water while in other regions of the planet people don’t even have clean water to drink. According to Water.org, 2 billion people lack access to clean water, and over 750 million of them do not even have access to drinking water.

Think of ways that you can save on your water usage. Shorten your showers; consider changing from a daily shower routine if you have one. Use appliances that are water savvy and close the faucet when you do dishes or brush your teeth. We are running out of water globally, and every drop counts.

Save the trees

Buy online, buy electronic, and find ways to avoid having to print paper. Skip the ATM receipt, and finally sit down and sign up for eStatements with the credit union and electronic account management of your Visa card. Think of every possible way to save on paper. The less printed paper we consume, the fewer trees will need to be felled. If you don’t like to read electronic books and like the feel of paper on your hands, buy used. Every book that you can look up on places like Amazon lists used options on sale.

O and since I am it: consider eating less beef. Our demand for beef is destroying the lungs of the world.

Plant a tree, and inspire others

It sounds silly but yes, plant a tree. One thing that I have always remembered from my first Earth day is that for every tree that we cut we need to plant 4 to replace it. Buy a common tree, and plant it, in your yard, on your street, someplace where it will not be cut down any time soon. You will be very proud of yourself when you’re done, believe me. And get others involved. Tell them that you plan on planting a tree and ask if any others want to help: neighbors, coworkers, relatives. You will find that people are very willing to follow other people’s leadership on doing something good.

Plant something

If you want to be a savvy consumer about this, consider growing your own herbs and lettuce at home. Those tasty lettuces that you can buy nowadays at the grocery store with their little pot, guess what: you can plant them in a pot, stick them on a sunny spot and continue growing them. If you buy several (you can even buy several varieties!), every time you want to make a salad, take off the outer leaves of all of them and there you go, a salad that keeps growing for you. A word of the wise: when lettuce grows an inner steam that leads to flowering, you will need to stop, as the leaves will turn very bitter then.

You can do the same thing with fresh herbs: thyme, oregano, rosemary and basil are low-maintenance plants that will give you fresh herbs all summer long and if, fall comes and they start withering, cut them down, dry them and use the leaves all winter long. You can always start again next spring.

Help actively

If you are the volunteering type, being kind to our planet is one of the best causes anyone can think of. Look for organizations in your area that are dedicated to the environment, and contact them to help. Volunteering is something you do at your own pace and with your own time, costs nothing, and feels outright good.

Join others

And if none of the ideas that I have given have any appeal to you, then please consider joining others. Look online for earth day activities near you that day, and join them. Get out, and do something good for yourself and our planet. One of life’s greatest sources of pleasure is engaging in something meaningful that is greater than us.

Happy Earth Day, everyone.