Happy Earth Day!
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970 … after U.S. Senator Nelson witnessed the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. On the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. And so became an annual event.
Earth day .. should be every day. We all can take steps to help our earth.. to leave this earth a better place for our kids, grandkids .. their kids. Be a good ancestor! Think ahead, what are YOU leaving for our future generations?
In our home we do our best to teach our kids to be conscious of the impact they have on this earth. We each have to do our part.
Trim your Waste …. We recycle anything that can be recycled (and nowadays there are more and more opportunities to recycle).
We use reusable bags when shopping. Think about it… when you grocery shop, on average how many bags do you use? Let’s say 5? How often do you shop? Twice a month? More?… So if you used reusable bags for the entire year you alone could avoid using at least 120 plastic bags!
Shop local or grow your own food. I love when it’s Farm Market season. We will buy our berries in large quantities and freeze them for the year. You can find jams, veggies, fruit all sorts of goodies at our local farm market 
Plant your own food. Don’t have room in your yard/condo? Why not check out a local community garden. Only a 5 min drive away from us is Maples Discovery Garden you can rent a plot from them and start growing your own herbs/veggies etc. My friend Ginger and her family have a plot there, they have inspired our family to look into renting a plot and growing our veggies/herbs etc. as well!
Not only are you eating local you are also then increasing the number of plant based meals you consume! And who can’t use more green in your life! (spinach or kale salad anyone?)… and you just can’t beat fresh herbs!
And if you want a glass of wine at dinner… there are so many local wineries and even breweries for you to sample from.
Carpool when possible. Often in our household we are pulled in so many directions with little time between activities or activities at the same time in different cities, we do our best to arrange for car-pooling. Not only does it help schedule wise, it also helps the environment.
Unplug and power down unneeded electronic devices and appliances. Chargers, computer peripherals, home entertainment devices and other appliances can all be unplugged when not in use. This can help reduce your utilities bill and carbon emissions simultaneously. This morning when I left for work, I shut down my computer (it won’t be used all day and often I am in the bad habit of leaving it on… all the time!), I unplugged the toaster oven, microwave, cell phone chargers (those tend to get left in the wall even without the phone attached)…
Disconnect and Reconnect… if you have teenagers in your house, you know they love their phones, electronics etc. (we have 2 teens and they are attached to their phones – okay, so am I!) Even our 2 year old loves the iPad etc. So disconnect, leave the phone, the TV, the iPad grab the kids, family, friends … and go outside… play, go for a walk, enjoy nature! If you go for a walk bring along a garbage bag and pick up any garbage along the way.
I encourage you to make one positive change for our earth today and every day…
my road to better fitness and health 