10 ways to celebrate Earth Day

From the Herald-Tribune:

LOVE YOUR ‘HOME’
10 ways to celebrate Earth Day
by Dr. Meg Lowman

“It is only a little planet

But how beautiful it is.”

–Robinson Jeffers, American poet (1887-1962)

Earth Day embodies new meaning this year, as heightened awareness of environmental changes on our planet dominates the news. Issues from polar bears to corn prices to droughts to invasive pythons signify a declining equilibrium for Mother Nature.

For the past 200 years, American parents have left a legacy that ensured quality of life for their children. Americans are waking up to the realization that this legacy is not always measured in terms of bank accounts, but also is reflected by the quality of our environment. Raising the standard of life for the next generation has been an achievable American dream for six generations, but now this trajectory is in jeopardy.

What actions can each of us undertake to ensure that our children inherit a healthy planet? Here is an Earth Day 2008 household list, invoking the mantra “love your home.” This home is defined by water, soil, air, animals and plants, and their intricate machinery of interactions.

1. Be a “locavore”
Eat local foods, support local business, buy local products, learn about your local environment, and restore and appreciate local ecosystems. Locavory reduces the expensive use of fossil fuels for shipping and business travel, and injects capital into the local economy. “Locavore” not only makes ecological sense, but also good business sense.

2. Travel gently
Think about ways your family can reduce its reliance on gasoline. Bicycles? Walking? School buses? Can you mark one “No car” day per month on your calendar? You might rediscover some special family activities such as board games, cards, baking, or a picnic in the neighborhood park.

3. Buy shade grown coffee
This relatively simple act will conserve songbirds, save rain forests, and encourage nature-friendly agricultural practices. “Shade grown” refers to coffee beans produced in the shade of tropical forest canopies, instead of beans produced by clearing large swaths of forests. Shade coffee tastes better, having grown more slowly, but costs about 10 cents more per cup. What a small price to pay for songbirds, conservation of life-giving tropical forests and encouragement of sound agricultural practices.

4. Bring back the night
Organize one hour for one evening every week to turn out the lights. Create a special family time for darkness activities, and your kids will admire you for caring about their future.

5. Stop using paper or plastic bags — today!
Put cloth bags in your car or hang them on door handles as a reminder to use them. Cloth bags cut down on fossil fuels used to manufacture plastic and deforestation for paper production, and also help turtles, shorebirds and other wildlife that are choked by runaway plastic bags. Shop only at local stores that encourage this practice.

6. Share nature with a child
Take one young person outside –picnic, walk, camp, scavenger hunt, watch birds, or play in a local park. Even better, go to a pond or woods at night and listen to the sounds of frogs, crickets, or perhaps even try to find a place to “hear” silence. Adults have a responsibility to educate kids about their “home.”

7. Education, education, education
Buy environmental books, magazines, and games that inspire and educate your household about “their home.” Bicycle on the Legacy Trail. Walk in the canopy at Myakka State Park.

8. Install a TED (or similar energy device) in your home
Home energy devices record the use of household energy, expressed in kilowatts or also programmable in dollars. The energy device has educated our family about the enormous energy expense of clothes dryers, and the extravagance of running air conditioning when no one is home. Installation of a TED changed our behavior, which led to lower household energy expenses.

9. Reduce water consumption
Halve your car wash schedule, create household competitions for shorter showers, or cut back your lawn watering schedule. Even better, plant native, low-water, high-carbon-storage vegetation.

10. Exercise car consciousness
If you rent or buy a car, demand a vehicle with both low emissions and efficient mileage. My Prius averages 55 miles per gallon, and its unique construction minimizes carbon dioxide emissions.

For Earth Day 2008, be kind to Mother Earth. She is our only home, and with careful stewardship, will continue to house our children, grandchildren and their children.