Today is Earth Day.
Here’s an excerpt from the relevant Wikipedia entry:
Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.
Although the above may sound a tad lofty, the Earth Day movement is in essence a grassroots movement. The first Earth Day celebration was held in spring 1970, with about 20 million Americans participating. Since then, it has grown to be celebrated on all continents in hundreds of countries, with Earth Day 2007 being one of the largest Earth Days so far: estimates indicate that about a billion people participated in various activities across the world.
I fully support the sentiments and goals of Earth Day, and encourage everyone to spread the word and find a nearby Earth Day event to participate in. However: once you’ve spent the day tasting, visiting exhibits and planting trees, please remember that there’s more to be done.
Don’t use your Earth Day participation merely as an opportunity to relieve your conscience and feel good about yourself. Use it the way it’s intended: as an inspiration to steer your daily habits in a more environmentally friendly direction.
It doesn’t have to be a sacrifice. Many of the changes you can make in your habits will save you money and/or effort in the long run. In fact, some of the things you can do will start saving you money rightaway, with virtually no effort.
Here’s an example: if you have a guest room or another room you rarely use, you’ll spend less money on heating simply by lowering the temperature in that room and keeping the door closed. The same goes for airconditioning: turn it off for that room and close the door. Done in one minute. Common sense, perhaps, but not necessarily something you consider if you’re not in the habit.
If you’ve been putting off “going green” because you think environmentally friendly products are too expensive, you could seize the opportunity to order some from amazon.com now. They’re running an Earth Day campaign with good discounts on quite a few green products; household products, organic groceries and low-energy lightbulbs being among them.
Speaking of low-energy lightbulbs – in a near future post, I’ll write about the different types of lightbulbs and their pros and cons, including the new LED-based bulbs.
This post was tagged with: celebrations, discounts, heating