Earth Day 2010!

The Earth

It's Earth Day! Normally this holiday gets me mad. I think it's a time for people to try and do a couple of things, and then forget about the earth the next day--it seems far more symbolic than real to me. On the other hand, maybe it gets people thinking. That's always a good thing.

Food, Inc. was on PBS last night and I watched it. Wow. If you don't already buy any food directly from a farmer, look around to see if it's possible in your area. The more people who are both buying real, untainted food (no GMOs or pesticides or herbicides or synthetic fertilizers), and supporting small family farms or CSAs (Consumer Supported Agricuture--co-ops of a sort) the more the corporate hold of our food supply starts to crumble a little. That's also always a good thing.

To celebrate today, I am going to go out and buy the latest and best of all of the Green products I can find!

No, I'm not. Joking!!

People keep forgetting, "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" We mostly have a hold on the recycle bit, but reusing things (hand me downs, garage sale and thrift store finds), and reducing in the first place seems to elude a lot of us.

If you need to replace something, see if you can get it used. If you can't then buy green. Buying green to replace perfectly usable things you have doesn't really help anyone or anything--except the Green manufacturers. That's OK except stuff still ends up in the landfills, doesn't it?

Go do something gentle for the earth today--even if it's as small a gesture as not buying something. Just skip it. You'll be OK, really.

Then, think about doing something tomorrow, and maybe all week. If you survive that, try it for a month. You may surprise yourself at your ability to forego stuff you don't need any way.

Try it and see how strong you are. You are woman!! (Or man, depending...)

Earth Day...Wait, That's EVERY Day!

I have a bit of a problem with Earth Day. While I think it's good to raise awareness and hopefully bring into people's consciousness the idea that we are connected to the earth and responsible to it, I still have a problem with how it is celebrated and why it is celebrated.

Every day is the earth's day. Every day we could be conscious of our connection to Nature and to be mindful of our place in it. To celebrate the earth on one day, and then possibly go back to buying things we don't need, and driving our gas guzzling hummers and giant SUVs, strikes me as being ironic and a bit obscene.

Earlier this week, a friend of ours recently went to buy a new washing machine--theirs was broken and irreparable. They went to an appliance store and were greeted with a presentation of animals from a nearby nature preserve--snakes, turtles, etc. It was great fun for them and their kids. They also got pins that the store was handing out showing how the store was celebrating Earth Day.

IRONY ALERT! *woot* *woot* *woot* *alarm sounds*

Do you hand out a thing to celebrate Earth Day?! A thing that will advertise your store, but that no one will wear, because kids don't really relish the marketing efforts of local appliance stores, and it will be quickly discarded and therefore it will end up in a landfill tout de suite.

I don't like when companies try to green their products or their marketing. It's cynical and false.

Instead of giving you a thing, I'm going to celebrate Earth Day today with you now by showing you the robin nest building going on in my backyard. Nature at work.

Look:

A robin is trying to build a nest on top of our completely ignored bird house at our living room window. A house with a pitched roof...

Wow. That's a lot of material up there.

But, not much of it is wedged behind. Do you think it will slide off?

Uh oh...

See all of those dried grasses in the center of the above photo with a green leaf on top? That all used to be on top of the birdhouse. Hopefully, the birds will try again and it will work out this time...

Yep, they are trying again.

Hey, that's looking better.

It looks like there's more plant material wedged between the window and the back of the birdhouse. That ought to keep it from slipping off this time.

Hello green canoe without an opossum living in it! Currently...As far as we know...

You should be proud, robin. That is a fabulous nest you've built. Take a bow, or stand there while I quickly try to get a photo of you.

Look at that nest! Look at all of the mud you've added--very stable. That's not going any where.

Are there any eggs yet? Let's take a quick peek, while you are off somewhere else.

No. No eggs yet, but we will check whenever you and your mate aren't around, so as to not freak you out.

Nicely done, Mother Nature. Beautiful work, robins.

Happy Earth Day everyone!