Let’s Celebrate Earth!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
today is Earth Day - a day to pause and remember that we actually live on a planet and have a responsibility to care for that planet. I know - sounds a bit lofty but let’s face it, if we live on it, shouldn’t we care for it??
Caring for our environment is not necessarily a natural skill given our society is currently structured around a disposable, use and toss mentality for just about everything. Many of us have to learn to live a bit differently if we want our planet to continue to thrive. We somehow have to remember that there is a domino effect of everything we do. Perhaps that is the way to picture it: we are all dominoes and everything we do causes the next one to fall over all over the earth continually using some resource or another. If you want proof of the problem just check out the price of gas or milk or lumbar. While clearly a sign of the economy, also a sign of natural resources being strained.
In my family, we recycled and did what we could to use environmentally safe cleaning products. We even purchased our first hybrid car this year. We figured that was a good start. Our 7th grader, however, didn’t agree. Learning about the environment this year and the “go green” movement, she has developed quite the spark for saving the environment. We’re suddenly finding ourselves with recycling bags for all sorts of cans and bottles we didn’t do as diligently before and we’re now having many more discussions about “giving back” and ways to “improve our foot prints”. Cool stuff, especially since this was all kid-drive and parent approved!
We are far from a green family but today we are greener than yesterday thanks to our daughter for reminding that we have a daily job to do. And, let me tell you, she is right there if we forget!
Today take the first steps to turn your family a bit more green. It all really starts with a bit of awareness and some simple steps. Perhaps recycle more or conserve energy more. Use cleaning products differently. Consider commuting by public transportation or with a buddy. Just remember, you’re a domino…and so am I. What we all do impacts each other and if we all go just a bit more green, think of what that will do to our future and the future of our kids.
Here are some resources to get you on your way:
US Earth Day Site
GMA Environmental Myths
Yahoo! Earth Day Site: Reuse Groups
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