Earth Day Thoughts

Happy Earth Day everyone!

I long for the day that every day is Earth Day. We should be eco-conscious in everything we do, every day. It should not be something we do once a year, like making New Years resolutions.

But since it is today that we celebrate the Earth, here are some thoughts of how we all can help.

1. Recycle, Reuse, Reduce. Yes, this has been a mantra chanted over and over for years, but the fact remains that many people still throw away things that can easily be recycled. I continue to read how much trash we generate as a society, and at some point we will no longer have a place to put it all. Even things like yard waste, which would naturally decompose, cannot break down very well in a landfill.
2. Start a compost pile. You don't need a fancy, store-bought bin. Just get some chicken wire and form one. Or use an old garbage can. As I mentioned above, yard and vegetable wastes sent to the landfill cannot decompose naturally, and when they do, they give off more greenhouse gases than normal. Even if you don't garden, a compost pile is still the responsible thing to do.
3. Grow native plants for your landscape. Trying to grow bamboo in the desert, or an orange tree in the mountains is foolish. Growing non-native plants usually means extra water and fertilizers to make it survive conditions it's not meant to survive.
4. Minimize your lawn. See my article Lawns are so 19th Century to find out why having a huge lawn is thumbing your nose at Mother Earth.
5. Don't wash your car every weekend. I have at least two neighbors that wash their cars (all of them) every weekend, religiously. In the winter, if the temperature gets above 60°, they're out there washing away. This is a huge waste of water, and sends lots of soap down the street, which eventually ends up in our ground water. Come on people, they're just cars! They're not decor inside your living room. I typically don't wash my car until vegetation starts to grow on it.
6. Plant a tree. Or two or three. Trees are our friends. Sure, this isn't Arbor Day, but who cares. Bare root trees are available at garden centers right now. They're cheap and can enhance your landscape tremendously. They provide lovely shade in the summer, clean the air, give us oxygen to breathe, and generally are cool.

If you have any other suggestions, please post a comment!