Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday Seven....Have you Herd?



It's Earth Day....that time in the year where we should all stop and look at what we are doing and what we can do to help pass on clean water, air, and a safe environment to our children and our children's children. Here are some suggestions that are easy enough to implement .

1. Buy local, eat local...for food that can not be grown in your region, such as tea, coffee, bananas, or chocolate, buy fair trade products where these are available. Make use of farmer's markets in your area.

2. Say No to Plastic bags that you use for just a few minutes that may last for years or decades in the landfills. Buy cloth bags and use them instead. Take one with you whenever you go out shopping and use it again and again.

3. Snip Six Pack Rings...Many 6 pack rings wind up in the ocean. Once they are in the water they become invisible to sea creatures and birds that are hunting for food. Sea gulls and pelicans can get the rings caught around their necks or becks when they dive into the water looking for fish. Tangled in the the rings, they can drown, strangle or stave.

4. Don't use Styrofoam cups. Polystyrene is forever: It is not biodegradable. Americans use enough Styrofoam cups each year to circle the earth 436 times. Don't be a mug...Use a mug!

5. Do Guerrilla Gardening: Our cities have more parking lots than parks. More traffic signs than trees. Guerrilla gardeners are people who anonymously plant herbs, flowers and vegetables on vacant land, in cracks in the pavement and by sides of roads and footpaths.

6. Commit to eating a vegetables -only dinner once a week. Producing meat requires a huge amount of resources compared to growing fruit, vegetables, and grains. Twenty vegetarians can live off the same amount of land that one meat eater would require. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% , it would free 13 million tons of grain-enough to feed 60 million people.

7. Commit an act of kindness. Do something for someone else without any expectation of gain or reward. (If you get caught...it doesn't count.) Here are some examples: * Whenever you pass a playground or area where kids play, drop some coins. Do you remember how excited you were when you found coins? * If you know people who are having a hard time financially, put a $5, $10, or $20 bill in an envelope, and mail it to them anonymously. They'll talk about it for weeks, remember it forever, and wonder who sent it.

Plant a garden, go visit a community garden or just go out and hug a tree. For those of you having wonderful spring weather go out and enjoy the beauty of spring with the budding trees and flowers . We can all be better stewards of the planet.

4 comments:

Talk..to..Grams said...

I am sure we could all help a lot more then we do!! You have some thoughtful ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Have a great Sunday! Love and Hugs Grams

Melli said...

I like that - mailing of the anonymous money! I've left anonymous groceries before -- but never thought to mail some money! I also like to buy hot coffee for construction crews in the winter time! (that's not anonymous - but BOY do they appreciate it!)

I do NOT like styrofoam cups! I do everything under my POWER to avoid them. But I am guilty of styrofoam plates... I will STOP that immediately! And I refuse to buy a product that has "six pack rings" on it. I have heard of a few creative ways to "re-use" them -- but not enough for the amount of them that are out there... and they ARE sO dangerous!

I do LOVE the guerrilla gardening! That is SUCH a cute idea! I don't know how I could possible be expected to grow something on a vacant LOT though that I can't even keep alive in my own yard!!! But I'll try! :)

My loooooooong post is up... grab a cuppa and come on over!

craziequeen said...

Supermarkets here are now offering Bags for Life, which are stronger and can be re-used and replaced for free when they break.
They even offer rewards for re-using bags - but I reuse bags in the house, saving a fortune on wastebin bags.

As for #6 - does being vegetarian every day count as extra good stuff.

cq

Anonymous said...

I love the guerrilla gardening idea. The idea of seeing chervil thriving in a sidewalk crack or an empty lot filled with dill is just too cool.

 
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