Don't let Earth Day be another reason for Hallmark to charge up the presses and deliver a new stack of hopefully-recycled cards for yet another pseudo-holiday.  Earth Day is a great time for the people of the Earth (hey, it IS EARTH Day) to take an inventory of all their Earth-harming ways and do something about it to fix it.

This is a noble day that will result in a lot of people becoming educated on how to be gentler to our Mother Earth, but this self-proclaimed environmentalist says that it should be Earth Day, EVERY DAY!  

I have not seen the numbers, but I believe that the majority of North Americans now recycle and prefer to use recycled and recyclable materials, when offered the choice.  But is that all you can do?  No - there is MUCH more!

Of course the one thing that is on everyone's mind these days is gas prices and finding more fuel efficient vehicles.  I'm pretty confident that everyone understands that by saving money on gas, it will also be good for the environment.  There is an obvious affinity for the hybrid vehicles, and growing fascination with vehicles that run on "alternative" fuels like natural gas (locally abundant, low "well to wheel" cost, very low emissions), "veggie-oil" vehicles (my cousin has one and it works great), all-electric vehicles, and even compressed-air powered vehicles (they are mass producing these in India).

Related to the search for alternatively-powered vehicles is an interest in solar-powered homes.  Solar powered systems not only have the potential to save money, but possibly even MAKE money!  One type of solar power system for homes taps into the main grid and FEEDS the grid with the electricity that it generates.  So if you use less than you generated, YOU could receive a check from the electric company at the end of the year!

To boot, many states offer a variety of rebates when you install solar power electricity to your homes.  I read an article recently about a fellow in my community that installed a $40,000 solar electricty system to his home, and paid only $23,000 because of state rebates.  This fellow now has an ANNUAL electric bill of around $130.  And I am SURE the he got at least dollar-for-dollar value increase on his home.

Now these are BIG changes, but what about the smaller ones?  Well, here are some tips.  Some may be easy, and others not so easy:

• Gotta say it again - recycling.  Nuff said.
• Organic recycling - collect your fruit and vegetable scraps and either feed them to a box full of worms in dirt (which you can buy).  Sounds gross, but it's great for folks who don't have room for a compost heap.  Another alternative (which I use) is to chop up my fruit and veggie scrpas really small (by hand or in a food chopper), and then just work it into the dirt in my garden!  You can even make a "tea" with the scraps, and water your plants with the water.  Natural fertilizer!
• Lawn and garden fertilizer - Try to use natural, organic fertilizers for your lawn and garden - something that won't contaminate the water.  Even though you think that it is impossible that fertilizing your lawn will affect the water in the ocean, think again.  The contaminants get in the water table, in the sewer, and it all makes its way to the ocean eventually.
• Hazardous household waste disposal - there are some items, like paints, batteries, and used car oil, that are not suitable for regular disposal because they can contaminate the dirt and ground water.  More communities are having hazardous household waste roundup events on a regular basis, allowing for community members to bring their hazardous household waste to be collected and never seen again!
• Plastic reduction - plastics are the bane of my existence!  I personally feel they are overused and even though many people do recycle, it gets my goat to know that recyclable plastics are still making their way to the garbage dumps.  And living by the ocean, they also make their way there as well, littering the coastlines and harming wildlife.  Try to use alternatives wherever possible, urge local restaurants to use biodegradable plastic food containers (much more available that you may think), and try to buy products that use little to no plastic packaging.
• Household cleaning - many household cleaning agents are NOT environmentally friendly.  Many companies are STARTING (why are they taking so long?) to recognize that the general public wants safer alternatives.  In the past they have been significantly more expensive, but that is starting to change.  Now the "big guys" (example:  Clorox) are offering Earth-friendly cleaning products at a comparable price.  And guess what - these products work too!
• Go vegetarian - Okay, okay.  I know a lot of you are saying now, "NO WAY!"  Well, how about trying to reduce the amount of meat you eat.  Livestock uses up considerable valuable resources - more than is needed to grow food to feed the Earth's population.  Cattle is also a significant contributor to global warming, as the methane they produce is very destructive.  By reducing our consumption of meat, we can reduce the negative effects on the Earth's atmosphere.
• Plant more - this is a suggestion from my oldest daughter, the green thumb.  Plant a tree in your yard.  Plant some pretty flowers or herbs.  It not only makes the Earth a more beautiful place to live, but it consumes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen.  And did you know that we need oxygen to live?

Folks, we can't expect wide-sweeping, large changes, but we can start with baby steps EVERYDAY.  If you want your government, your companies, your neighbors, to make more Earth friendly changes, start with leading by example.

Okay, now go plant a tree!

Copyright 2008 Tiffany Wilson.  All rights reserved.