Happy Earth Day!

 Happy Earth Day! I hope you all have an opportunity to get outside and celebrate the earth. Here are some resources to help you live a little more lightly on the earth.

Here is the official Earth Day website. There will be a live broadcast, events, and news.

Here is a history of Earth Day.

How to Save a Planet is an excellent podcast about what individuals can do fight climate change.

Ecosia.org is a search engine. Install the plugin and every time you do a search, a tree will be planted. How to Save a Planet did an episode on this search engine. So far, I'm up to 225 trees.

Who Gives a Crap sells toilet paper made either from recycled paper or bamboo (which is a grass and not a tree). They also donate part of their profits to charities that build toilets around the world. You need toilet paper; why not buy some that helps build toilets and doesn't kill 500-year-old trees?

Here are some things you can do everyday to have a little less impact on the planet. Feel free to add suggestions in the comments.

• Go outside. You won't be as interested in taking care of the planet if you don't have an appreciation for it. Take a walk. Sit on a park bench. Go bird watching.
• Eat less meat. You don't have to be a vegetarian, but eating less meat is good for you and good for the planet. Perhaps you can go meatless once or twice a week.
• Drive less. Be more efficient when running errands -- do multiple errands on one trip instead of making several trips. Is there one day a week or month when you can skip driving the car? How about carpooling (wait until you're vaccinated if you want to carpool with people outside your household)?
• Use less single-use plastic. Carry a reusable water bottle with you. Keep containers in your kitchen so you can use less plastic wrap and fewer plastic bags. Bring reusable grocery and produce bags to the store.
• Recycling is good but reducing what you buy and reusing what you have are even better.
• Organize a swap - clothes, toys, books, household items. This can be done outdoors and would be a good way to get some new-to-you items and safely get together with all those friends you haven't seen during the last year.
• Pick up some trash and dispose of it properly.

Let me know in the comments what action(s) you take or are going to take. If at least three of you comment, I'll have a drawing tomorrow (4/23), and the winner will receive a $25 gift card for Who Gives a Crap. I'll announce the winner at our weekly meeting.