What better season to honor the Earth than spring?
Since its inception, Earth Day has grown into a worldwide celebration of preserving the land we inhabit. It can be small, like recycling, or more drastic, like switching to solar-powered energy and driving electric cars. But the point of Earth Day is to honor our planet and learn healthy ways to interact with it throughout the year.
April 22 also marks the start of the “Green Generation Campaign,” a two-year initiative that culminates with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 is touted as “a day of action and civic participation, to defend the Green Generation’s core principles: a carbon-free future based on renewable energy …. an individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption … and creation of a new green economy.”
Locally, there is a lot we can do.
“Sustainable San Juans,” from April 17 to 19, is an upcoming series of events on San Juan Island for the entire county. From a stewardship fair and workshops to farm tours and field trips, it’s three days all about the Earth. Visit www.stewardshipsjc.org.
A “Welcome Back Bluebirds” nesting contest is being sponsored by the San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project. The contest will acknowledge the first member of the island community to have a Western bluebird nest on their property. Visit www.sjpt.org.
Eth-Noh-Tec, storytellers Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, will present “Green Stories!” at the Odd Fellows Hall on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
The county is collecting old compact fluorescent light bulbs during this spring’s hazardous waste collection on Orcas on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orcas Island solid waste facility. CFLs use two-thirds less energy than standard light bulbs and they last 10 times longer. But they contain toxic mercury gas and are to be handled with care. Instead of just throwing them away, please head over to the hazardous waste collection day.
We won’t make much of an impact by treating our planet well just one day out of the year. We should always be thinking about buying local produce, recycling our plastic, glass, and paper products, frequenting the Exchange, shopping at second-hand stores, donating to sales like Granny’s Attic (happening April 18), using cloth bags instead of plastic, bringing our own coffee cups to cafes, and buying metal water bottles that can be reused. The list goes on and on, and once we start thinking about ways to conserve, it comes naturally. Yes, it takes some effort. But when the finches are singing, last year’s tulips are pushing through the ground, and the sun is warming our shoulders, we’ll be glad we did our part – no matter how small – to keep the Earth turning in all its glory.
