Happy Earth Day!
Endless gratitude to all of you who are standing up today and every day for our planet! Hand-in-hand it’s our time to compassionately lead by example and teach others as we all transition to an equitable, regenerative vibrant future.
As far as I’m concerned, every day we get to enjoy this majestic planet is Earth Day. But I always use this time of year for reflection. I ask myself what have I done to support the health of Mother Earth and what more can I do? And I set an intention of doing a bit more each year. Earth is our collective home and the way we treat our home directly reflects how we treat ourselves. We all deserve to live in a clean, peaceful, beautiful environment. Together, we can do our part.
Here are just a few tips that are not only light on the Earth, but light on your wallet.
Support and Advocate for legislation like the Green New Deal
Support politicians who not only speak up for the Earth but take tangible actions.
Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork. Buy straight from the farm, frequent your local farmers’ market, or join a local food co-op. We go to Saturday Market to get all our local organic produce from Warden Farms, locally harvested fruit from St. Pete Fruit Co-Op and the best tempeh we’ve ever had from St. Pete Ferments. It’s cheaper than at the store and stay fresher longer.
Buy organic food to keep your body and the environment free of toxic pesticides. Support farmers and companies who use organic ingredients.
Grow your own organic garden or join the many community gardens in your area.
Reduce or eliminate your meat consumption to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry.
Compost kitchen scraps and your own body’s waste products--nails, hair, menstrual fluid, urine, (even feces if you properly compost it) for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.
Plant a tree or wild flowers or donate a tree.
Join a local park, river, or beach clean-up.
Use environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products. We use laundry soap sheets like these. and white vinegar and baking soda for our other cleaning.
Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs.
Carpool, ride your bike, use public transportation or drive an electric or hybrid car.
Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags, straws. You can even get bamboo toothbrushes!
Recycle paper, plastic, and glass. Reduce your garbage by 10% and your carbon footprint by 1,200 pounds a year.
When you need something, consider buying used items first.
Donate your old clothes and home goods instead of throwing them out.
Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.
When you need to use paper, make sure it’s 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
Use reusable bottles for water and reusable containers for food storage and lunches.
Bring reusable bags when you shop.
Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving showerhead.
Run your dishwasher only when it’s full to save water and energy.
Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.
Wash your clothes only when necessary, use cold water and line dry.
Form a “green team” at your office to find cost-effective ways to conserve resources and promote sustainability.
Turn off lights when you leave a room.
Install solar panels on your roof.
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer to reduce your carbon
Volunteer for local environmental groups and/or make a donation to organizations like ours, The Illumi-Nation Project, The Edible Peace Patch Project, Florida Suncoast Sierra Club, Chart 411, Friends of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, & The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
May today and every day we respect and be the caretakers of the precious resources our Mama abundantly shares with us. And may we actively teach our children to do the same so that future generations may also thrive and live in harmony with our beautiful planet.