Even if you subscribe to the George Carlin Theory of “The Planet’s Fine“, it certainly doesn’t hurt to do something nice for your home once in awhile and what better day to do that than on Earth Day. Earth Day came about in 1970 as a result call for it by Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin. It caught on reasonably well and today is celebrated in over 170countries. It has completely overshadowed Arbor day, other than in Nebraska, where Arbor day originated. Since most of us cannot afford to replace our cars with electric ones, nor is solar and wind powered energy cost effective for most of the middle class, there are things we can do to make the Earth a little better place. The Ten Best Affordable Environmental tips of the day are:
- Recycle. Take those bottles and cans to the recycling center. Today is a great day to do it.
- Pickup some trash. There is plenty of it just sitting around.
- Car Pool. If you are heading to an activity that involves others, invite someone to share a ride with you. Not only is it good for the earth, with rising gas prices its good for the wallet.
- Plant a Garden. Not so much for the oxygen plants produce, but because to get vegetables to market requires more than a few tractors and trucks. All of which burn some sort of fuel. (Why Bother? A great New York Times Magazine article)
- Turn it off! Keep lights, computers, and TVs off when not in use.
- Ride a Bike. Not only will the planet thank you, but your body probably could use the exercise as well.
- Filter your tap water instead of drinking bottled water. Much of the bottled water is merely filtered tap water anyway, why use up all the plastic for the water bottles?
- Use e-mail instead of written memo’s to communicate with friends and family.
- Subscribe on-line instead of in print. If you don’t need the paper version, get your news on-line.
- Keep your car tuned up. Not only will it run cleaner, it will get better gas mileage as well.
While Earth Day made today’s list rather easy, it was sure tempting to do something related to Jack Nicholson’s, Aaron Spelling’s or Glen Campbell’s Birthday. Also, The Oklahoma Land Rush started at noon today in 1889 and amazingly, 6 hours later, two cities of nearly 10,000 citizens each were formed, Oklahoma City and Guthrie. Might be interesting to find out what other cities grew that fast, maybe next year.
