...but I plan to celebrate all month. As many of you know, I am a closet hippy. On the surface, I pose as a normal mainstream American, but deep down I battle with many issues that I see in the way that we live. I am by no means a saint... I die my hair and like hot showers and love plastic. However, I TRY really hard to balance convenience and conscience. So, in honor of Earth Day, I am going to post a lot of helpful info this month on my BLOG.
Some posts will be helpful for the Bride who wants to incorporate a few eco-friendly ideas into the wedding planning, some will be vegetarian recipes (which will also help shed pounds or detox your liver), some will be little tips each of us can do to lessen the impact that we have on the world and some will just be interesting tidbits... Feel free to add comments about what you do on a daily basis to help the Earth (or feel less guilty). I should start a contest...Ideas?
I will start out pretty small today with just a few things that I do purposefully in my day to day life, hopefully to inspire:
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*I ride my bike or walk as much as possible, as a method of transportation. If I lived in a real city, I would probably have to walk that far to a subway stop... I try to remember this when I get in my car. Added benefit... I don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. I specifically bought my house in Swillburg because it is exactly one mile from EVERYTHING that I do (except go to your wedding, but I try to work at Artisan Works as much as possible and I drive a Honda).
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*I buy local.
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*I buy Fair Trade Coffee. Because it is more expensive, I drink less of it, but find I enjoy it more.
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*I do the bulk of my food shopping at the Farmer’s Market.
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*I run all of my errands on Monday, when I drive to banjo practice (I wonder if I can get a backpack bag so I can start riding my bike?).
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*Everything (except professional camera and computer equipment) is used. Even my house. Why buy something new, when something used comes with a history? When I do buy new, I buy American made products as much as possible.
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*The biggest impact is that I am a vegetarian! Animal factory farms contribute 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions... more than the transportation sector! (citing the UN’s recent “Livestock’s Long Shadow” study). This month’s issue of Vegetarian Times Magazine is so inspiring in every aspect of green living!
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*I’ve been using canvas shopping bags since before they were trendy and I bring empty backpacks to the mall too!
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*My home is powered by wind energy (and all of my rechargeable batteries for my cameras/flashes/etc).
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*I recycle EVERYTHING. I’ll do a whole post about that later...
