Reflections after Earth Day

How did you celebrate Earth Day?

I didn’t really “celebrate” Earth Day – no tree planting for me (which seems to be the standardized Earth Day event). Instead I helped with the monthly children’s Wondergarten event – where we discussed caring for the Earth with the kids, read Schim Schimmel’s Dear Children of the Earth, painted clay pots and planted seeds. I guess that is a pretty significant way to celebrate – to help educate children. Of course, these kids are already aware of how to treat the Earth respectfully. They told us all kinds of ways they do this – but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce it and share ideas with their peers.

I do have some concerns with Earth Day though – the same concerns I have with those e-mail (spam) petitions people send me. It’s all cathartic – they lull many people into imagining they are “making a difference” just by taking thirty seconds from their life to forward a list with their name on it. In the same vein, planting a couple trees in a city park on one day of the year doesn’t reduce your responsibilities during the rest of the year. Insofar as these things can raise awareness I support them – provided people go on to incorporate this awareness into their daily lives. But a couple trees don’t make up for the acres of rainforest and other old growth cut down for your beef/soybeans/paper, etc.

I don’t claim to be the most active environmentalist – but I keep my respect of the Earth in mind in all that I do. Here’s a short list that may inspire others. None of this requires any extra “effort” (except perhaps some start-up work for some things). (Warning, this is my soapbox)

Of the three Rs – reduce is the first for a reason. Reducing the amount of packaged foods and so forth is step one. Reduce the amount of disposable stuff too! Tupperware and other lunch containers are one way (and since Tupperware is so pricey, you’re unlikely to toss it like you might the disposable/reusable Gladware – but even Gladware has its place).
Swiffer-everything really annoys me. (The same goes for single-use cutting boards I see on TV.) There is a better solution – microfibre washable cloths. You can attach them to the end of your swiffer if necessary. These work wet or dry and are now available everywhere. If cost is an issue, the dollar stores carry them, but I’ve even seen them in grocery aisles. Combined with some environmentally-friendly household cleaners (bought or homemade), these clean everything in my house from glass to bookshelves. (I use regular cotton cloths for the scrubbing-cleaning. Vinegar, baking soda and diluted bleach are my household cleaners. (Recipes for homemade cleaners available all over the Internet.)
We don’t even use disposable tissues anymore. Washable flannel tissues RULE! Oh so soft and thick – no worries of getting snotty hands or a raw nose. Cheap and easy to make – just sew two squares of flannel together. I don’t have a serger, but a zig-zag stitch along the edge suffices. You can get any colour or design – which makes them fun too. Cut the squares at least an inch larger than the desired hanky size, since they will shrink on the first wash because you need to wash them in hot water.
Need I even mention reducing the amount of energy and water used whenever possible?

Reuse – the second R. I already covered reusable containers – and I’m sure you’ve also discovered that whatever plastic containers you don’t recycle immediately can be reused as well. Much of the above falls into this category as well.

The final R is recycle. In addition to using our municipal blue-box system, we also drive other items to the municipal waste management facility. Styrofoam and even bicycles are recycled at our facility – but not picked up at the side of the road. Most cities now have a grass-roots FreeCycle program where you can advertise your (free) unwanted items on a list and people will pick them up.
Composting is a form of recycling – turning yard/garden clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grinds, and dried egg shells (no other animal products please) into food for your plants/garden/lawn while reducing the amount of waste in landfills. We have two composters – a large outdoor compost bin and an indoor vermicomposter with red wiggler worms. The large woody cuttings we gather go into paper bags to be collected by waste management who makes mulch and compost (which are available for free).

Perhaps this sounds like a lot – but when it is simply part of your routine you don’t even notice. Maybe it doesn’t sound like enough – it’s not overtly “saving the environment” – but reality is that the only thing that will save us is a total change in lifestyle. I still have to drive a car (but biking is more enjoyable) and fly in airplanes to conferences and use water for laundry and (unfortunately) dry clothes in the dryer – but I can reduce in these areas as much as possible. I alone will not make a huge impact – but we together can. It’s about choices and being painfully aware of consequences. It’s about respecting our planet.

As Mother Earth writes in Dear Children of the Earth:

“My children, tell your friends and other people… that I need them to love me and care for me. Tell them all the animals are their sisters and brothers, and that we are all one big family. And tell them, too, that I always know when they do little things to help me. … Remember, I am your Home. And just like you, there is only one of me.”