Everyone is talking about what they are doing on April 22, 2010, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, an annual day to honor the earth. There are events (I hope you are not flying to one!), and group and personal gestures. My day will be filled with the latter.
On Thursday, I will wake up and get out of bed. The flannel sheets on my bed are thinning, and most of middle America would have replaced them by now. To me, they have many miles left in them, and when their purpose as bed coverings has expired, they will be torn up and used as rags. I recently put a hole-y old flannel sheet in my rag bin.
I will patter to the kitchen for a cup of local, organic coffee (sorry, not Fair Trade, but bought in bulk) with a dash of organic half & half. I will check my email, post green news on Twitter to educate the masses, and play word games on Facebook to stay in touch with far-away friends (greener and more frugal than travel). (photo: flickr rore)
Breakfast will be plain organic yogurt with organic strawberries and Stevia (not so green, since it’s been processed from a plant to white powder for the convenience of Americans who don’t want to be inconvenienced). Maybe I’ll have an omelet of local eggs and Tillamook cheese, topped with New Mexico green chile, and a side of organic beet greens from my greenhouse. I’ll follow that with more coffee or tea with Fair Trade organic sugar. I’ll take what I call ‘my meds,’ herbal and natural supplements that are part of a preventive health care program, to avoid going to the doctor or hospital, since I don’t have insurance.
Weather permitting, I will do a load of laundry in my efficient front-loading Kenmore washer, and hang it outside in the disinfecting sun. I will water my organic vegetable and herb gardens, and walk around the yard to see which wildflowers are in bloom.
I’ll take a shower with hot water from my solar thermal system, using little or no natural gas to heat the water. I’ll use soap that is locally made.
I will work from home making phone calls, emailing clients, and emailing docs or using efax. If I need to print something, it will be on recycled paper or the back side of an already printed sheet.
If I go to my office, which is in my broker’s home (the green alternative to an external office with extra utility usage and bills), I’ll drive my Ford Escape Hybrid, coasting in electric mode the last three of the six miles, spewing no emissions. I will have packed a nice organic lunch of leftovers and brought my reusable Nathan water bottle.
If I need to, I will run a week’s worth of errands on my drive home. I’ll stop for cat food (not green, made by Nestle, but it’s the only brand she does not throw up – there’s always a trade-off) and the compressed pine nugget cat litter (very green, made from wood scraps). I’ll get some organic produce, and check my mail. I may even visit with a friend. At home, I’ll change my clothes and go for a walk to enjoy the beauty that surrounds my home in Taos. Walking is more preventive health care, and natural beauty and fresh air are food for the soul.
Dinner will be organic vegetables with tofu or quinoa and an organic salad with Trader Joe’s dressing (not organic, but frugal). Maybe I’ll even have a beer from the most sustainable brewery in the country, New Belgium. I’ll put the bottle in my recycling bin.
Evening will be spent in the vegetable garden, watering and picking weeds, or in the yard raking up last year’s dead growth to put in the brush pile. I’ll come in about dark, snack on organic fruit, and continue to sift through my belongings to see what I can bring to my neighbor’s yard sale this weekend. I’ll make a pile of books and magazines for the library, and clothes for the free box. Other things will be slated for the Habitat for Humanity Re-store down the street. Paper will get burned to take off the spring chill in the house. This is ongoing for me, but when I move later this year, I want to bring as little as possible with me.
I will go to bed early, since a good night’s sleep is more preventive health care. I’ll get up and do it again on Friday.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
LOVE it Nan!! That is exactly right…there shouldn’t need to be any major difference in your daily routine. Hopefully Earth Day tomorrow will help make more people aware of that so they can tune their daily routines accordingly. :)
Thanks, Tara! I am on organic cuppa #1 this morning. :)
Sustainability and conservation are not ideas to celebrate once a year. It’s kind of like Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. We need to act honorably and respectfully every day. And not make a shopping holiday out of it! That especially defeats the purpose of Earth Day! lol
Nice. I like the thoughtful and intentional small things you do that really add up. Imagine if everyone was this thoughtful about their own personal sustainability!
Thanks, Glenn! It does not take much to have a smaller carbon footprint. I was sure to mention my eco-sins, as well. I didn’t want you all thinking I thought I was perfectly green! I am SO not!