Monday, April 19, 2010

Earth Day a Celebration for Green Living - But it should continue all year long

Yes, all you green living mavens rejoice; that special holiday reserved for nurturing our Mother Nature is upon us on the 22nd of April! And while we should be thinking about reducing our carbon footprint, curbing energy consumption, and the all important recycling all year round this can act as a little reminder for those already doing so and it can in turn spur this mentality to those that may be a bit eco-challenged at the moment. And that is exactly what it is a mentality; thinking green is not something that only should come about once a year, yet instead every day and throughout all facets of our lives. I don’t think it comes as a surprise that our planet is in crisis and it is now critical that we all do our own part to amend our current trashy ways so to speak.

Another unique marker for this Earth Day is that it is the 40th anniversary of the occasion and while there will certainly be green living parties across the globe, if you are in the United States you may want to head on out to one of the EPA @ 40 Celebrations. There will be one major shindig going down in Washington, DC but also multiple others in various cities nationwide; you can find the one nearest you at www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm where there will be science experiments to wow the kids, The Carbon Wheel of Fortune to interactively show how you can reduce your own carbon footprint, along with a plethora of other activities. There may or may not be cake but you can rest assured that there will be plenty of spreading of the eco-word in the hopes of instilling just how vital it is to do what you can to green up your act no matter how small those actions may seem. There is also the ongoing ‘Pick 5 for the Environment’ campaign where you can pledge to adopt five specific habits that you will be accountable for. This is likened to thinking of green living as a process in which you are continually moving forward and adding to your own eco-friendly traits. You can get the kids to join in too and you could all write your own pledges (or fill in the one online at the EPA site) and stick them up on that Energy Star rated fridge as a reminder.

Green living is just that; it is not one fleeting day on the calendar but a way that we need to start acknowledging as a lifestyle if we are going to make the necessary changes. Yes there are these larger, planned celebrations but your own celebration could be as little as switching out your traditional light bulbs for CFLs, setting up a recycling bin in your school or office, or going out and picking up what some nasty litter bugs left behind. No matter your plans for April 22nd just don’t let them stop there and continue to spread this green living mentality to the younger generations so that our planet will be there for the future.

Photo credit: http://caitchock.com/

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