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Earth Day 2007
By karen | April 22, 2007
It’s April 22, 2007. Earth Day 2007. I gaze out my window at my neighbor’s garden and I see a mass of red, yellow, purple, white, green. Her tulips, daffodils, hyacinths are in full bloom. It is an extraordinarily beautiful sight.
My gaze extends further to the eastern mountains. The variant colors of brown are amazing. As I look further up I can see the powdered sugar coating of snow peeking out at the tops of the peaks.
Looking out towards the Northeast I can see the Rockies in all of their splendor and beauty. I lived away from the mountains for a short time in my life. They were what I missed the most. Everyday they are so beautiful and watching the changes of the season’s portrayed everyday on the massive and beautiful canvas of the mountains is a glorious sight.
The fruit trees are in full bloom. The beautiful pinks, light pinks, dark pinks add such an air of frivolity to my city. The yellow forsythia, the purple lilacs, the red and yellow and peach colored tulips, my city is alive with the beauty and magnificence of spring.
That is just at my house. The rest of the world also has the magnificent beauty of life and nature. I watch “Planet Earth” on the Discovery channel and I am stunned; I am in a deep state of awe at the intense beauty of this world we live in.
It’s April 22, 2007. Earth Day 2007. My thoughts, my heart, my love, my reverence is upon this beautiful Earth where we live.
Forget about the politics. Forget about the fighting against. Forget about global warming for a moment. Remember the beauty of this Earth. Remember the beauty of the seasons. Remember the power swell of the ocean waves, the snow on the mountains, the red rocks of the desert, the beauty of life. Remember this amazing world we live in.
It’s not about politics. It’s about reverence. It’s about appreciation. It’s about doing our part to allow the stream of well-being.
Go Green. It’s an easy thing to do, an easy thing that can make a difference.
Turn off your lights. Better yet replace all of your incandescent light bulbs with Energy Smart bulbs. Sure they cost more up front but they last 10x longer and they conserve energy, therefore emitting less carbon dioxide into the air.
Turn off your water. This is a big one in my part of the country. Living in the 2nd driest state in the nation we are often concerned with drought. Really, it’s not necessary to have the water running while the toothbrush is in your mouth.
Paper or Plastic? Try neither. Bring your own bag when you get your groceries. It’s the “in” thing to do. It saves trees. It saves waste. You’ll be stylin’ with your own bag. You can find the perfect grocery bag for you at Ecobags.com. Oprah also has a great canvas bag available at her site. It’s sold out now but hopefully she will get more.
Walk more. It’s good for the environment. It’s good for your health.
Get a Clean House. Clean doesn’t smell like ammonia. Clean doesn’t smell like bleach. There are some wonderful dye and perfume-free, nontoxic, biodegradable, naturally derived, never tested on animals, (did I miss anything?) cleaning products available. I often use Method products. They smell wonderful! They smell Clean!
Recycle, reuse, reduce. For recycling resources in your area visit www.earth911.org
Unplug it. If it’s plugged in it is still draining energy. So if you are not using it unplug it.
There is more. Be creative. How can you go Green?
You can make a difference. Little things can make a difference if enough people do them. Be one of those people. Make your difference.
It’s not about the politics. It’s about the reverence.
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The Living by Design Blog Carnival #3 has included this post in its Sunday, April 29, 2007 edition. You can read all of the great posts at Living By Design.
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This post is included in the Doing It Differently blog Carnival 2nd edition on May 1, 2007
You can check out the carnival at Today is that Day
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Topics: Living the Power, Real Life |
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Great post. I use my own canvas bag, try to use less water, and have changed to compact florescent lights. Little by little I’m trying to evolve.
One word about the light bulbs: if you pick the daylight ones, they are very white - and can be jarring. However, there are some that have the same color of regular incandescent bulbs and are more comfortable for me.
(I bought mine at Walgreens: FEITElectric ECObulb. The white ones are FEIT Electric Daylight Natural. You can get them in a variety of sizes: I use 60 watts in most lights, and 100 watts in areas I need to see well. Just don’t exceed your light fixture’s wattage limits!)
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Thanks for the tips Swan!
I’m headed to the store right now with my own canvas bag! Little things can make a difference.
April 29th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Thank you for contributing again to the Living by Design Blog Carnival - this article has been included in this week’s edition and is now live on my site.
with best wishes
Ananga
April 29th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Thank you Ananga! I’m looking forward to the Carnival!
July 29th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
The beginning of this article brought me pleasant memories of my childhood. I grew up in Albuquerque, and the way you describe your view is an exact replica of the views I loved as a child. When I visit home I still love to drive to a favorite spot above the city, and look out at all the city lights sparkling in the distance.
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:35 am
[…] Today is September 22, it was 5 months ago today that we celebrated Earth day, on April 22, 2007. I wrote a piece celebrating Earth day and as I go back and read, I realize that I could have done better in the past 5 months on the suggestions I offered. But the consciousness is there and every day I will try to offer up my love and reverence to this beautiful planet that we live on. […]
December 2nd, 2007 at 12:57 pm
[…] 1. From April 22, 2007- Earth Day Earth Day 2007 […]
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:03 am
[…] In Honor of Earth Day, Read the Tribute from 2007. […]
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’ve been green for as long as I can remember - grow my own veg etc. Glad the world is waking up at last.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hey Viv…
That is nice…
I am dreaming now about this little rototiller that I’m wanting so I can grow some vegies this year!!