Today is Earth Day, and we certainly have the opportunity to do our part in preserving and valuing the resources of our home. This day is just a reminder to us to be more aware of our planet, not just on this one day of the year, but every day. I find myself asking "What can I do that I am not currently doing to take better care of our environment?"
How many of you are using the cloth reusable grocery bags to bring home your groceries? I have started doing that, though I could be better at remembering to bring them in with me from my car when I stop at the grocery store! We can all do things like turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth until we actually need it, or putting cans, recyclable plastic bottles, our newspapers, and glass into the recycle bins. What are other ways we can help? I decided to do some research on the subject. Here are a few ideas I found on the internet.
Are you using eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products in your home? These are a lot more available these days. The main thing is to avoid the poisonous and harmful ingredients in them such as chlorine bleach, phosphates, formaldehyde, napthas and mineral spirits, which can not only cause damage to us and animals, but also to our environment. Here is an interesting article I read that gives some natural, safe cleaning alternatives: Switch to Natural Cleaning Products .
In addition to that, we can do what we can to raise our awareness of environmental issues. Here are some ideas on how to do that. Teach kids about Earth Day. They are the adults of tomorrow. Here are 10 Ways to Teach Kids About Earth Day. Here's another page of Earth Day Activities for Kids.
Read up on Earth Day - inform yourself and share with others what you learn. Just do a Google search on Earth Day and you will see literally hundreds of thousands of websites devoted to the subject. Take action: Do one new activity to teach someone about caring for our environment or to recycle our waste, or even to promote and support creating less waste in the first place. How can you recycle materials in your art or craft? As creative people, we can come up with some new and interesting ways to re-use materials.
I am thinking about paintings I have not liked, especially on watercolor paper - I plan on keeping it and maybe cutting it up in different ways to use in my artists journal, rather than just throwing it in the trash can.
So, what can you do? How can you help? Perhaps you can post here some ideas you might have on ways you are helping or plan to in the future.
Enjoy your day!
Arlene
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3 comments:
Its tough in todays times to buy those expensive "earth-friendly" products. I know that I was researching laundry cleaners & 409 type of products and found a cheaper way to make my own cleaners just using items from around the house. Vinegar, lemons, baking soda. All work just as well without the harshness of chemicals. Plus, seems to smell better as well.
my church had a huge Creation Celebration in honor of Earth Day on Sunday We had wildlife resource people, plants to sell, people teaching about growing their own veggies, spouts, etc. We had a puppet show with songs about God's creation and how we should care for the Earth. There were lots of other things going on as well. my DH and I don't do as much as we should, though.
Jenn - it is tough and crazy that it is so much more expensive to buy products that are earth-friendly than ones that contain harmful chemicals! Good for you that you found inexpensive, safe alternatives.
Julia - that event sounds wonderful! I am sure lots of people learned a lot. Hey, I think we ALL could probably do more, even in small ways. If we all do that it can make a huge difference!
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