Earth Day is Every Day
Posted By Kathleen David on April 22, 2007
You can thank Senator Gaylord Nelson for Earth Day. It was created in 1970 to bring greater awareness about this wonderful spinning ball that we all live on. Earth Day has also brought environmental concerns and causes to the forefront. Earth Day has been billed as the largest secular modern-day holiday in the world.
I can remember a time before recycling. We put out a lot more trash on trash day than we do now. I can remember paper drives at my elementary school where there were contests to see which class/grade could collect the most papers. My class won once and got a picnic out of it.
For me now recycling is just part of life and it will be part of my daughter’s life. I think I will be the last generation who will remember a time before recycling. I think mine is also the last generation before the creation of the internet.
There is a lot we can do to help our planet. We all have to live here. Currently there are no other alternatives. I want to make sure that the planet is around for my children and grandchildren. And it is the little things that if everyone did, it would make a big difference. One thing I have been doing is refilling a water bottle rather than buying yet another one. I got this great 20 oz bottle that Rubbermaid made for which part of the profits go to breast cancer research so that’s two causes at once!
What are you doing to help our planet?
I am grateful for this beloved mud-ball we live on.
Myself, I find myself driving less–walking and using public transit more. Also, I’ve been trying to bring my own tote bags when grocery shopping so as not to use as many plastic bags, and am trying to replace inacdenscent lightbulbs with flourescents where I can and am more aware than ever of energy ratings when buying appliances.
I don’t want to derail this discussion overmuch, but your comments on recycling reminded me of something I once read from an environmental engineer. I can’t recall where I read it, but the gist of what he was saying is that it’s almost a pity that recycling has become, in many people’s minds the be-all and end-all of personal environmentalism.
His point is that in many cases and in many communities, recycling isn’t the self-evident clear cut boon to the environment that many people have come to think–for instance, in some communities, the seperate collections & processing of recyclables use more energy than is saved and may even pollute more than would the manufacture of new products. Recycling some products–aluminium, certain plastics–is more clearly beneficial than others, but overall one main value he saw to recycling is that it gets individuals to think environmentally, which may get them to make choices that more clearly affect the environment that recycling itself does.
I think the point is that if you’re recycling stuff, that’s fine. But recycling alone might not be as beneficial as you might think, and recycling shouldn’t be the only thing you do to be environmentally aware.
OK. I guess I have dereailed the discussion a bit, but I do think it’s worth realizing that there’s much more to environmentalism than just recycling…
It’s not a matter of what I do, it’s what don’t I do. I’m a natural born pack rat. I’ve sewn wonderful quilts and award-winning costumes from recycled fabrics. I strip everything I throw out for useful items – screws, nuts, wires, knobs, buttons, buckles, fabrics, etc. I shop second-hand when at all possible. I combine my errands as much as possible, so I’m not making 30 separate trips in the car. I save the seeds from what I buy and grow and plant the next year from them. I can my own foods, which are far better than anything you can buy in the store. I use no pesticides, except on my apple trees because the apples are useless turd balls without it, but I use as little as possible – far below recommendation. For this year, I planted flowers and herbs around the yard. Fruit trees will be coming next month. My question is, if it’s such a big deal nationally, and we’re supposed to cut fossil fuel use, why are the first cars made into hybrids the most fuel-efficient cars to start with? I would LOVE to drive a more fuel-efficient car, but there’s nothing out there remotely economical that will fit 8 people. And if the government is serious about it, why does it cost me $20 to drive 5 kids into New York in my car ($75 including parking), but to take energy-saving mass transit (i.e. MetroNorth Train) would cost me over $220!!!??? Something’s not right here. Recycling is a big part of the deal, but we still have a loooong way to go. There’s a wonderful book out there on the garbage of NYC – very entertaining and enlightening – but I’ll be darned if I can think of the author/title right now.
The book I mentioned is Garbageland: On the Secret Trail of Trash, by Elizabeth Royte (Little,Brown). In the debate for and against recycling, this is a book that looks hard at the NYC garbage problem. It reads like a good novel despite the non-fic rating. I highly recommend it.