Since buying a Prius isn’t in my radar at the moment, I’m finding a few other ways to get into the Earth Day spirit.
- Start a compost pile: We’re aggressive recyclers in our house, but we still generate a lot of waste in the form of vegetable trimmings, particularly during the summer. There’s no better way to get to get rid of these in an environmentally friendly manner, and you get the added benefit of rich compost when you’re done.
- Plant a garden with my kids: Sure, our little garden isn’t going to do much to trap wayward carbon in the atmosphere. My goal here is to get my daughters excited (or at least a little more informed) about how things grow.
- Eat local: Choices that we make about what we eat have a tremendous impact on how things are grown or raised which, in turn, has a big impact on the environment. Eating organic is good in many ways, but some of those benefits get cancelled by the energy of flying that food half way around the world.
- And eat vegetarian more often: I’m a committed omnivore, but it’s important to realize that meat has a large carbon footprint. Feed requires lots of energy to create and ship, and a pound of meat requires several pounds of feed to create it. On top of that, animals create greenhouse gasses on their own.
- Walk somewhere: Preferably somewhere you would have driven. For me, this has meant jogging to the gym rather than driving and then hopping on the treadmill. It’s a practice that made a lot of sense in the middle of the winter. Really. I’m sure of it…
And my free bonus activity:
- Spend time outdoors: I find that enthusiasm for the environment gets stronger the more we enjoy the outdoors. So go for a hike, do a little fishing, take a nap in the hammock, or do something else to spend some time outside this weekend!
