Plan for the Planet -or- It's Your Earth, Too

Well, Earth Day has come and gone. I'm sure most people didn't observe this event. Lots of people probably don't even know it exists. That's more than a shame. After 40 years, I expected a lot more out of U.S. citizens. Part of this apathy or obliviousness is undoubtedly because a lot of Americans refuse to believe their actions have a direct impact on the planet. People don't worry about the future, figuring they'll be long gone before the planet's in dire straits. (You'd think they'd want to make the world a better place for and be available to their children or children they know.) Others don't believe in global warming, even though a lot of these global warming unbelievers are Christians. Even if they think icebergs and glaciers aren't melting at an alarming rate, they should still care about being good stewards of God's creation and treat it with respect.

*****************

It kills me when I hear grocery clerks ask customers if it's okay to put their groceries in plastic bags and the customers respond affirmatively, or to see customers exiting the store with their groceries in ten or more plastic bags. Don't they see all those plastic bags from stores stuck in trees, fences, and other places along roads? On a recent Saturday morning shopping trip when I gave my usual "I don't want any plastic" statement, the teen sacker made a comment about plastic bags being recyclable. I'm still skeptical on that point, but even if these plastic bags CAN be recycled and ARE recycled by Dillon's and other stores, that doesn't mean that everyone who receives these plastic bags DO recycle them -- because they ARE in trees and fences and other places they obviously shouldn't be. I keep several cloth bags in my vehicle and have stashed a few away in Rex's car. When Dylan comes home with a plastic bag, I chastise him. My habits are starting to rub off on Rex -- he opted to carry purchases out of two stores sans plastic bags today. Had I reminded him before he left for his shopping trip to take the cloth bags into the stores, he might have come back completely plastic-free. I'm going to add some cloth bags to Dylan's vehicle and try to remind him about them whenever I know he's going out to purchase something. And I'll continue to admonish him when he BRINGS PLASTIC INTO MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****************

Before Hutch provided its current recycling plan where we can recycle plastic up to #7, I saved plastics above #2 (our upper limit at the time) and took them to Nathan's because his recycler took up to #7. I just couldn't stand to throw all those yogurt cups away! I'm thankful for our new recycling plan in that regard, but I wish we personally recycled grass clippings. (That's a battle with Rex I'm not ready to facejust yet.) Once again, my habits are rubbing off on Rex some, although he continues to throw away cardboard and plastic without a second thought, making me dumpster-dive it at times. Dylan actually is better than Rex at recycling.

*****************

I rarely turn on lights until I absolutely need them. During the day, I usually use the toilet in our master bathroom because there's a window and I don't need to turn on a light. I don't turn on lights in the kitchen during the day, because the daylight coming in all the windows provides plenty of light. I wait to turn on lights in the living room until it gets too hard to read. (Of course, if Rex is around, this all changes. Guess his eyesight is a lot worse than mine!)

*****************

I'm trying harder to be smarter about water usage, especially since the 2010 summer library program theme is about water. For years, I've turned off the tap while brushing my teeth. But I've been bad about running water for long periods of time in the kitchen when cleaning, cooking, washing things, etc. I'm more conscious of that now, so maybe my habits will change for the better. And I bought a new reusable water bottle for work, rather than bringing new bottled water all the time -- but I always recycled those bottles. I still use bottles of water at times, like when I take walks or go on outings, but I've reduced how much bottled water I use. I don't rinse out glass, tin, or plastic before tossing them in the recycle bin.

*****************

Maybe our planet still has millions of years of life left. But I'm betting it doesn't, not if its inhabitants don't make major changes in the way they live. I'm trying to do my part and hoping more and more people get on board and do their part, too. How 'bout you?