Earth Day has been celebrated for over 50 years now, and I find that incredible. Almost my entire life we have heard about saving the earth and yet, here we are, worse off today than when we started celebrating.
With over 190 countries participating in activities to try to save our beautiful planet, how are we not further along in our efforts? Because while the big wigs in charge are making agreements for behavior on a larger scale, we the people tend to "let someone else do it". This notion that "I can't make a difference, so why bother", is the exact reason why you can't make a difference. The truth is, EVERYONE doing something can make a huge difference. At the very least, you won't be contributing to speeding up the destruction. You may even be responsible for slowing down the destruction. Optimally, you may contribute to stopping the destruction. So why not take action? Any of those three options are better than adding to the destruction, no?
You don't have to be wealthy or elite or have a bunch of time handy to do positive things to help Mother Earth. You just have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone, let go of some habits, and create new habits the entire family can participate in. I live in a small apartment with a deck. I can't plant trees or do the big stuff. However, I do have a small Compost tumbler on the deck which greatly reduces food waste and will help feed my house plants and deck plants important nutrients. Last year I planted flowers to attract butterflies and bees. Not a lot, but it worked! The bees were around all year and not at all aggressive towards me or anyone who visited. They were happy and grateful and we lived together harmoniously.
I have also started making my own basic products, like ketchup and bbq sauce. The recipes are easy and I am not contributing by adding more plastic bottles or even glass. I clean and save all glass jars and reuse them for storage or vases. Whatever plastic is leftover from past purchases, I recycle.
My niece gave me a great idea to repurpose old clothes. I have not started this yet, but it is a great way to save on waste. You can make new items, patches, or children's toys out of them. If this isn't your cup of tea, you can drop off old clothes at several donation bins or organizations. Anything is better than just adding to the landfill.
Chemicals are a huge problem. They are destroying the earth, seeping into the soil and waters. Anything grown in that soil will be contaminated. Anyone drinking from the water (or fish living in them) will be poisoned. Humans have made tremendous advancements for our comfort and productivity, but the animals and the planet were not considered. Since it is impossible to have everyone go back to living without these advancements, we CAN minimize the use, find better solutions for future advancements, and perhaps create something that will clean up our mess.
War. Not just destroying lives and families, war destroys the earth. Guns, bombs, chemical weapons, fires, debris from torn-down buildings, the list goes on. At the root of most wars are greed, conceit, and ego. We can help by getting more involved in political decisions. We can take a stand on certain laws that do not benefit Mother Earth. Vote.
I am sure there are many other things we can do to change what humans alone have done. Animals do not destroy the planet unless guided by humans (factory farms). Humans created this mess and it is up to us to fix it. I would love to hear from my readers on ways they are helping save our beautiful planet. I am always eager to try new things. Please share your ideas. That can be your first act towards living a more sustainable, healthy, earth-friendly life!
