Happy EARTH DAY!

Happy Earth Day! Today people all over the world are joining together to celebrate our planet and recommit to protecting its natural resources.

Every year, we learn more and more about global warming and its serious consequences. Scary, because unless we turn things around soon, life for all of us is going to drastically change. Good, because as we learn more about the impact we’re having on the earth, I believe we can ignite enough momentum and passion to actually turn things around.

I picked up my 3-year-old son, Asher, from preschool this afternoon, and I knew their teacher was spending the week talking about the Earth. When I asked Asher for ideas on how we might celebrate Earth Day, he suggested we eat more pancakes. His logic being, that since pancakes are round, they’ll remind us of the earth every time we eat them, and maybe that will remind us to take better care of our planet.

So, what the heck. I’ll eat more pancakes. But I’m also going to recommit to doing what I can to reduce my family’s ecological footprint. Here are some things I’m going to keep on doing (or do more of!):

• use reusable canvas bags when shopping (for groceries, clothes, whatever)
• unplug computers, chargers, toasters, and any other electronic gizmos that suck energy out of the outlets when they’re not in use
• take shorter showers
• turn off the water when brushing teeth
• don’t turn lights on unless it’s dark, and use low-emission light bulbs
• buy locally grown produce whenever possible
• walk, bike, and take public transportation more and drive less
• buy less new “stuff” – thrift stores are less expensive and are just another way of recycling

How about you? Have you made any big changes in your life to reduce your impact on the environment? Leave a comment and share!

For more info on Earth Day, check out these websites:

• Earthday Network
• Envirolink
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• Earthsite