Maybe it started as many causes do -- with celebrities
backing it -- or perhaps the hippies knew it was cool all along but the rest of
us are just catching on. Or maybe it’s all about Al Gore? Either way, it is
more fashionable than ever to “go green.”
Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22 but activities have already been
happening throughout metro Detroit,
including events at the Detroit Zoo, the Earthfest party at the Crofoot and
many metro parks focusing on education, entertainment and volunteer
opportunities.
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. The concept was
founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin
and is now celebrated around the world. Celebrations vary across the world,
from daylong group clean-up efforts to weekend-long festivals and month-long
awareness campaigns.
But why not start being green today?
With more available resources and knowledge than ever before,
it is easier to offset our collective carbon foot print and
primp Earth for all of our future generations.
Science can now measure the green-house gases emitted from
regular day-to-day activities; this measurement is called a carbon footprint
and it is the impact our activities have on the environment. Each individual
has a carbon footprint, as does each organization -- even whole regions from
across the world. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide.
America
has a pretty big carbon footprint, as you can imagine. The calculation for a
carbon footprint includes transportation, meat consumption, leisure activities
and waste among other things.
The amount of green-house gases emitted during daily life
differs from person to person and can easily be reduced by mundane changes in
daily habits.
The first step to becoming more green is understanding the impact (and taking responsibility) on the
environment we have as individuals.
One of the ways to gauge where you’re at is to visit a
variety of web sites that offer carbon foot print tests.
Check out the "Ecological Footprint Quiz" at www.earthday.net.
This quiz asks questions specific to region and household
and then calculates how many biological-productive acres of Earth an individual
would need to survive. Then the quiz calculates how many planet Earths would be
needed if everyone on Earth lived the same way as the individual who took the
quiz; the ideal conclusion being one or less-than-one planet Earth.
In America
the average person requires 24 biological-productive acres: Which equals the
need for around five-planet Earths -- if everyone on Earth were to live the way
Americans do. Grim.
What would Captain Planet think if he knew that today his
super villains weren’t the evil Hoggish Greedly (the bad guy known in the
Captain Planet and the Planeteers cartoon for his piggish over consumption and
trail of waste), but regular, everyday people?
Luckily, there are some
quick and easy changes people can
make to lessen their negative impact on the environment: Refill water bottles
or use sports bottles, buy 2 liters over 12 packs of soda, car pool or take
public transportation when possible, (when it’s nice) ride a bike, motorcycle,
horse (anything other than a car), use canvas or paper bags when grocery
shopping, buy locally grown items with less packaging, switch to energy saving
light bulbs and most importantly spread the word so everyone can make small
changes.
On Earth Day celebrate by picking up litter, turning off the
lights, using public transportation or refusing to drive that big ol’ gas-guzzling
SUV, and getting educated on government bills aimed to help promote the welfare
of Earth.
If changing daily habits doesn’t sound like fun, but the
desire to get involved is still strong, another option is to utilize the
services of companies that specialize in offseting carbon footprints.
Example: Feeling guilty about that recent flight to Paris? Pay Be Green Now
or Climate Care, two organizations that offset carbon output to reduce CO2
outputs by investing in wind power, hydropower, renewable biomass, energy efficient
stoves and human power…To offset CO2 emissions, other organizations also plant
trees.
With the countdown to Earth Day on, and more ways than ever
to get in the green, celebrating and protecting our planet just became a whole
lot easier. Let's do it now before the damage is irreversible.
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