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April 22, 2006

Earth Day: Saving The Planet, One Tree At A Time

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
And I´m asking you, sir, at the top of my lungs--
he was very upset as he shouted and puffed--
What´s that THING you´ve made out of my Truffula tuft?

The Lorax said,
Sir! You are crazy with greed.
There is no one on earth
who would buy that fool Thneed!
    - The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

I still remember my first school Earth Day. Back then, one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books was The Lorax. Frankly, it still makes my favorite booklist and I've already bought a nice copy for my future children, in case there are no trees left to print it by that time.

That year, we all, each and every student, got a little dogwood sampling. We were tasked with planting them somewhere, preferably in a garden. We wrapped the fragile bare roots in wet papertowels (back then none were recycled) and took them home. Mine ended up in our backyard, and over the years, it grew into a lovely tree, flowering every spring. I wonder now how many actually survived the bus trip home?

Sure, Earth Day isn't just about trees, but I'd argue that trees are a nice emissary to the environment, easy to understand and explain. Earth Day is a day to reflect on the fact that you are a member of a planetary community, a world citizen. A citizen with a responsibility to live in a responsible manner with respect to the environment.

Over the years, I have been involved in all sorts of Earth Day programs, from garbage collection to tree planting ceremonies. I even spoke out against balloon send-offs at my old primary school after my 2nd grade graduation send-off balloon landed on an island used for missile testing.

But here's my real piece of advice about Earth Day: You don't necessarily need to go out and join some community program in order to celebrate Earth Day.

All you need to do is make a resolution.

Like New Years, only something much more likely to actually come true. Make a resolution to change one thing, no matter how small, and stick to it. Make it a family thing. No matter how small it is, it can make a difference if everyone did the same. Encourage your friends and neighbors to - ask them on Monday morning.

What did you do for Earth Day?
Our family did ____.

Need some ideas on things you can do without too much effort? Consider some of these little changes to daily life:

• Most recycling centers now take ALL JUNK MAIL. Put it in the recycle bin
  
• Don't print something out until the last moment when you need it. Use 2-sided printing whenever possible. If your eyes are good, use 2-up printing as well for paper savings of 75%.
  
• More than 50% of all garbage nowadays from the average family is recyclable. Are you meeting that target?
  
• Favor recycled materials when possible, from bath tissue to greet cards. Here's a great shoppers guide from NRDC.
  
• If you can, switch to synthetic oil in your car - you can go much, much longer between changes
  
• Lower your power consumption - better lightbulbs, donate the garage fridge, keep computers off when not in use, etc.
  

These are just a couple of examples, there are lots and lots of Earth Day sites out there with activities and ideas. I just gave you a couple of the ones our household has implemented successfully over the years.

Posted by sorsha at April 22, 2006 12:12 PM