Dear readers,
Happy Earth Day! Though these days being green and eco-conscious is a more than a once-a-year celebration (thank goodness for that!), it is also a good time to reflect on our personal habits and lifestyle choices and how they affect the environment.
It is important to note that living in a responsible, sustainable manner is not always “easy.” Nor should it be. The more we challenge ourselves and each other to reduce waste, cut costs, grow our own food, walk more, bike more, and share resources, the more we ensure the health of our local communities.
Earth Day is a great time to challenge ourselves on a personal level. We are all in different places and have different goals. Below are my top 5 goals for the Earth this year. What are yours?
1. Use my car less. Though I do my best to only use my car for necessary trips, I often find myself using it for a quick errand to the store, if I’m feeling lazy, or if the weather is not a perfect 70 degrees and sunny. My goal for the Earth this year is to commute to work 3 days a week via foot, bike, or bus. Not only will I reduce carbon emissions, but I will get some exercise and meet new people!
I recently rated my neighborhood’s “walkability.” Luckily, Portland is a pretty walkable city. Plug your location into Walk Score and they will let you know how the “walkability” of your neighborhood. Leave us a comment and let us know how your town fared!
2. No more plastic or paper! Though I am generally good about bringing reusable bags with me to the grocery store or farmer’s market, I often forget, and am inundated with paper and plastic bags I don’t need. My goal for the Earth is to bring a reusable bag with me when shopping at the grocery store, video store, mall, farmer’s market–wherever I end up!
3. Compost! Though I used to compost, I have not done so in a few years–and I have no excuse. Composting is an easy initiative we can call take, whether you live in the city or a rural town (check out an earlier post we had on composting). The City of Portland sells inexpensive bins and I plan on picking one up this week. My goal for the Earth is to reduce my waste by composting food byproducts and lawn waste.
4. Find someone who can use it. When I am in the frenzy of spring cleaning or cleaning out my house in general, I am often tempted to just dump the things I don’t want in the trash, put it outside in the barrel, and be done with it! My goal for the Earth is to give a second life to goods and find homes where they will be used. I will donate to Goodwill, post items on freecycle or craig’slist, or give them to a friend.
5. Take the time to appreciate the world around me. I often find myself in a rush, going from one thing to the next, and not taking the time to slow down and enjoy the natural around me. With spring here, it is a good time to enjoy the parts of the day that enrich my life: the blue sky, the smell of spring rain, the sound of seagulls, and the grass, flowers, and trees coming to life. My goal for the Earth is to foster a deeper sense of connection and appreciation with the natural world.
Hi Michelle ~ I loved the Walk Score website and got a 74 for my neighborhood, not too shabby. I, too, share in your sentiments for Earth Day. In fact, there is a direct bus route from the end of my street to the next street over from work, so my goal is to commute 3x/week also. We’ll have to check up on each other to hold ourselves to our “commute challenges.” A bike would also be a great way to get to work!! I did stop by the Portland Public Works a few weeks back and they said they had stopped with the composting bins. Perhaps they changed their mind since then? They did say to check back, so let me know.