With Earth Day just around the corner...
You can buy eco-friendly and attend celebrations, but don't forget about doing something, too.
Mon, Apr 19 2010 at 4:03 PM EST
Photo: TANAKA/Flickr Did you know Earth Day was just around the corner? I’ve gotten hundreds of e-mails over the past six weeks or so from publicists reminding of it. They were all alerting me to a product that I could write about for Earth Day or an event that is taking place because of Earth Day. And, if I had a dollar for everyone of those e-mails that began with the words, “With Earth Day just around the corner …,” I’d be pretty happy.
While most of the things mentioned in those e-mails were fine, I still believe that the best way to celebrate Earth Day, if you’re going to celebrate it at all, is by doing something. Whatever you do doesn’t need to be a grand gesture, although there are many opportunities for grand gestures on Earth Day. Here are some suggestions for quieter, but still effective actions.
- Guerilla gardening – If you want to beautify Mother Earth up a bit, plant some sunflowers in a barren section of your neighborhood or drop some seed bombs in a hard to reach place. Go back in a few weeks and see if anything has taken. (See what they're doing in London.)
- Go meatless for the day – Monday isn’t the only day you can go meatless. The less meat you eat, the more you can reduce your carbon footprint and save water (animals raised for food consume a lot of water during their lifetime).
- Write the letter you’ve been meaning to send to your representative — If you have a cause you care about that you want your representative to care about, you need to be vocal about it. Whether it’s asking for a Childhood Nutrition Bill that puts the kids first, The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, or any other bill that deals with food, the environment or both, make your voice be heard. An easy way to get your representative's contact information is through Write Your Representative.
- If you don’t have an edible garden, repurpose something in your home into a planter and plant some herbs — it can be a bucket, a big tin that someone sent you popcorn in, anything. Just make sure to poke drainage holes in the bottom. Then plant an herb or two — my suggestions would be parsley or basil, but plant whatever you think you’ll use most.
- Borrow a book — go to the library (walk or take public transportation if possible) and borrow that sustainable food book you’ve been meaning to read. If you’re new to this genre and need some suggestions try Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Food Matters; The Omnivore’s Dilemma or The Unhealthy Truth.
Also on MNN:
- Celebrate Earth Day the sustainable food way
- 40 eco-ideas for Earth Day
- Earth Day turns 40: An animated tribute
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