Since today is Earth Day, you are likely to be bludgeoned by various media (including blogs) about environmental issues. In my own net-prowling this morning, I've seen at least a dozen articles on the environment and just yesterday picked up Time Magazine's Green issue.
I wonder, in part, if the hoopla is helping. We still have people like Rush Limbaugh on the air claiming that the idea of global warming is a vast left-wing, nut-job conspiracy (although he's never quite clear on the goal of said conspiracy...maybe it's to give him something to rant about?).
We still have folks merrily loading up their SUV's with plastic water bottles, bagged in plastic bags. (Hello, woman behind me!) Diet trends (100 calorie packs!) compete with green trends (buy in bulk!) and in either case, it appears our waistlines and the earth are both the worse for wear.
So what's the key?
I have a saying on my computer courtesy of my sister-in-law, Cindy. "Some action is almost always better than no action." It helps me not to get discouraged when it seems like the actions I take are too little ro too few, like I'm taking up arms against a "sea of troubles" with no hope of ending them.
I won't, by myself. But I'm not alone. There is a growing awareness of the actions we can take and the complexity of the issues we face. So my Earth Day question to you is this:
What gift of changed habits will you commit to future generations this day?
Will you change your light bulbs?
Reduce your watering schedule by one day per week?
Commit to a beef-free diet?
Buy some reusable grocery bags?
Wash your laundry in cold water?
The point isn't that we each have to do all of these things. But that we all need to do some of these (or other) things to live reasonably, sustainably and well on the earth. So let me hear about your change(s). Because we're all in this fight together, aren't we?