Its Earth Day today so I felt compelled to write more about our beautiful but incredibly hurting planet. Its probably the most talked about topic on the planet at the moment or we can at least hope everyone is tuned into this one.
Every Eco System is strained and will be for generations unless we take action everyday. The time is now to make ‘greener’ changes in our lives because we are truly living amongst an Ecological crisis.
The Eleventh Hour Documentary (2007) – Leonardo DiCaprio was my inspiration this time. I’ve been tuned into my ‘green’ since I was a young teen. When I was 19 years old on a road trip in Montreal, I was the girl that ran down the street after a black garbage bag that was blowing in the wind to grab it and put it in the garbage can. My friends all laughed at me, but I didn’t care cause I was doing something to make a difference in any way I could… right in front of my eyes.
All it takes is being aware of your immediate surroundings to see that the earth is hurting and that the main reason it’s hurting is because of our mass consumption every single day. Critical Mass and the constant barrag of gas, plastic & general crap that makes garbage & pollution.
Its not about stopping all forms of shopping, but more about cutting down how much shopping we do on a weekly basis. Buy smart. Buy local. Buy less often from mass manufactured companies and stop shopping from unethical companies!! This means from companies that are sweat shop free but also companies that package their goods in non-biodegradable plastic or have harmful chemicals in their products.
Remember this if nothing else and chant it to yourself as much as possible. “The more things you have the more time you have to spend working.” Slow down and breathe already. The flowers do smell marvelous. For real.
We have to build a new ‘green’ economy that is centered around healthy fuels, green options, and making it easier for the average human to shop and buy ‘greener’ things. Everyday you vote by paying for everything that you buy. It says yes I approve of this product and the way it is made, what it is made out of and what it does. That is one of the most powerful votes you have. Make the right choices and think about that bottle of water that you bought yet again and where that plastic is going once your done with it. Recycling isn’t solely the answer it’s a small part of the solution. Reduce.
The government needs to be a bigger part in the ‘green’ movement for the masses and should lower income taxes in my opinion and increase fossil fuel taxes. This way we’re not having to pay more, but instead it will even out financially and become easier over time to decrease our addiction to harmful fossil fuels. The sun has enough energy alone to power every building, power plant, business and home if captured by solar power. We’ve almost exhausted so many resources already, but the sun keeps shining on all of us so… Im just saying.. Think about it.
Bailouts aren’t the answer if that business that receives it is doing biz the old fashionioned way. In my opinion its Gods way of saying “what you were doing is not right so fix it or you won’t have a biz.” We need a wise use of our planets resources, because we don’t have 20-30 years. We have to make the changes now!!
On the bright side what a great time to be alive because this generation gets to be the ones that completely redefine and change the way we have been doing things for century’s. This generation is the one to make the changes really happen, because most of us are ready to make the leap to the ‘greener’ side.
11thhouraction.com
Some more suggestions in how to live a greener life everyday:
1. Walk – So obvious, but always so worth saying.
2. Ride your bike. Work out for you and Green to!!!
3. Move closer to where you work or vice versa.
4. Pick up a piece of litter a day. You know that piece of garbage that you stepped over to walk past.. go back, pick it up and throw it in the next garbage you see. Do this everyday or at least regularly.
5. Stop buying anything plastic that you possibly can, most importantly things that are “one use wonders” like plastic drink containers or non recyclable plastics.
6. Write diaper companies like Huggies and Pampers and demand that they come up with a biodegradable diaper!!! Shame on you Huggies and Pampers! You are leaders in your field and you are a joke. You look as selfish as you possibly can through your neglect in this area. Make it easier for all the families out there that simply have to buy into your brand because there are no other options for them. Get a conscience.
7. Fill up your tires on your car so you get the best performance on gas.
8. Stop smoking already! 3 strikes butt out!! It harms you, it harms everyone else and its terrible for the environment. Plus you probably litter butts everywhere every single day. The tobacco companies call you a sucker and straight up… so do I.
9. Buy from local Designers, Artisans, and Farms. Keep the money local on so many levels.
10. Shut off the taps faster and recognize the precious gift every drop of “Blue Gold” is. Do you know that above all water is the most precious resource of all? Without it we are a desert and nothing grows there. Think.
11. Stop being the devil’s advocate by telling your friends and the people you chat with on a daily basis that Global Warming isn’t true or whatever rubbish you may have heard second hand. If you can’t tell that the earth is hurting badly and in deadly serious shape than you are part of the problem so zip it man and do something ‘green’ to counteract what you’ve done. Going green certainly can’t hurt so do it already!
12. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Reduce is the first so stop buying so much plastic in fact cut it out ruthlessly. There are other options most of the time! Once it’s broken it goes in a landfill. Set up a recycling program in your office or somewhere that needs one. The fact that some people still don’t recycle is unfathomable. Make it happen today!
