Articles

The Best of Earth Day Action

April 2015

Earth Day can bring out the best of us in a number of ways. We can become more aware of current habits along with heartfelt, forwarding thinking practices so as to lessen our impact on the Earth and our fellow inhabitants.

Whereas the more desirable trend is to pin our confidence and hopes on technology to cover human-made mistakes and our ever expanding appetite for all things, I am not convinced this is going to be our only saving grace.

While optimistic and grateful for the groundswell slowly taking us in the right direction, I know the concept of person responsibility is never a popular one. Yet I feel the reality is that what will truly make a difference to how we feel morally about our situation is if we return to the original approach involving reducing, reusing and recycling.

As humans, we are hardwired to care. Doing otherwise causes us to numb out which affects our psyche in a painfully depressing way. It leads to behaviors which further add to our problems.

The practice of mindfulness can be brought into our gardening efforts and beyond. It involves instilling awareness in how we move on a daily basis to bring positive change to our lives and those around us. Potential benefits include more joy and peace of mind. It also suggests if we consistently bring intentionality to what we consume we can also reap impressive, long lasting results and rewards. Sounds appealing doesn’t it?

Meaningful actions include taking a less is more approach as we furnish our lives and the spaces we occupy. Don’t most of us want to simplify our lives anyway? Fewer distractions allow us to spend time doing what’s of higher importance. Reducing addiction to fossil fuels with the associated wars and destruction to life and land honestly acknowledges the fact that everything we consume has its cost far beyond the initial price tag.

When making purchases, slow down long enough to read the fine print. Discern ingredients and caveats of unsuspecting impacts. When possible, buy locally from environmentally conscious businesses to reduce associated transportation costs.

Wise businesses now look at the triple bottom line which includes measuring decisions and actions based on how sustainable they are to people, planet and profits alike. As individuals, we can adopt this same mindset, considering the benefits to all.  

Creatively squeeze a little more life out of things than you may have in the past. Very few items should have a one-use life. I love that Dee Amick encourages recycling through her creative reuse activities at schools and community events. Call her at 970-541-4568 if you have something to contribute.

Beyond the 7 water conserving Xeriscape™ principles for the landscape, research gray water systems for irrigating ornamental plants.