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Editorial Note: This article originally appeared in The Weekly Choice on April 21, 2005.
Founded on April 22nd back in 1970, Earth Day has been known as the monumentous event where citizens from all around the globe rose up to face the ever-worsening environmental challenges that our own civilization has placed upon us. The water contamination from unregulated plants and factories, the Greenhouse Gases emitted by our vehicles transporting us back and forth from the daily grind, and even just common litter – although sporadic cries had previously been ignored, it was on this day that we finally took heed to the warnings that flashed before us and strode to make a difference in the way we live our lives…
And it worked. Thirty-five years ago, some 20 million Americans stepped out of doors to do their duty and the numbers have risen steadily ever since – a whopping 184 countries commanding hundreds of millions of people participated in Earth Day 2000 to shout forth the voice of reason to the remaindered masses: a clean and conscious environment is vital to our term here on Planet Earth. Advances big and small continue to stem forth each and every day, and this Friday, it’s all set to come full-circle once again with Earth Day 2005. While you may not have major plans to go out and revitalize your community’s ecosystem single-handedly, it is nonetheless important for all of us to do our part with these efforts…regardless of what day the calendar actually says that it is.
Of course, some of you may be sitting there scratching your heads this very minute, wondering what you could do to save something as astronomically huge as the environment, and that’s exactly what I’m here for – to bring things all back into perspective for you! It may seem like a gigantic undertaking when you look at the big picture, so let’s take a quick look at just a few areas where anyone 5 – 50 could help lend a conservative hand. Regardless of age, hopefully you’ve heard about The Three R’s somewhere along your educational path, but either way, this isn’t exactly rocket science…
#1 – Reduce
The idea is simple enough – the less you throw away, the less strain that waste plays on the environment. Everything from waste paper and packaging to water and even gasoline fits into this category – it only makes sense that if you buy a product with less packaging than another, less waste will come of it when you throw that packaging away…unless, of course, you can recycle it, but we’ll get to that in a minute!
I threw water and gasoline in here as well because both lead to byproducts that can be harmful, too – specifically wastewater and toxic fumes, respectively. Just little things like shutting off the water while you’re brushing your teeth or riding your bike instead of taking the car can help to make a difference…
#2 – Reuse
“Don’t throw that out just yet – there’s plenty of use left in that old thing!”
We’ve no doubt all heard that a time or two, but maybe Mom was right all along – it just doesn’t make sense to replace things before we need to – economically OR environmentally! The more lifelong example to be cited here would be clothing, but I’d also like to point out one that will probably make all of the bachelors in the audience cringe – disposable plates and silverware. I know, I know – I don’t like doing dishes any more than you do, but although those sporks might be convenient for you, they’re certainly not nearly as kind to the environment…who gets stuck dealing with them in landfills over the next 100 years as they attempt to decompose.
Now obviously we’re not about to resort to eating off of broken dishes or anything, but as in most fathoms of life, a little common sense can go a long way! A little something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself getting all revved up about the next big thing…
#3 – Recycle
And finally the big one that everyone’s heard about, but still only a few actually practice – recycling!
To be honest with you, we should really consider ourselves fortunate here in Northern Michigan – most of our communities offer weekly curbside recycling and heck, the state even pays us to recycle our pop cans at a rate of ten cents a piece – who can beat that?! (I know, I know – technically we pay the tax when we make our purchases in the first place, but hey, it works.) Some areas don’t make the recycling of household goods nearly as easy, so just set aside a few extra minutes to sort out your plastics and be grateful!
And to those of you who still aren’t recycling, just take a look at that huge stack of newspapers out in the garage that you’ve got to haul out to the curb every few weeks…wouldn’t it be nice to just tote ‘em and forget about ‘em???
Now mind you, The Three R’s truly only scratch the surface of the environmentalist mind, so if you’d like to explore other methods of conservation that could be introduced into your everyday life – from compost piles to rose gardens, solar panels and even rainwater purification systems – there are great milestones to be had here for those willing to provide the effort, and for the name of humanity and the hope of a greener future, I think it’s about time that more of us stepped up to the plate here for good, old Mother Earth! This celebration doesn’t only have to be one day a year – visit www.earthday.net to learn about ways that you can help to make a difference everyday.
Have a productive Earth Day, and remember – we’re all in this together!
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