Be Kind to Our Mother

Today is Earth Day - a day designed to remind us that which is our home, our sustanance, our environment, and our source of nourishment is in peril.

I think we are going to have to expand our thinking a little and consider every day Earth Day. We have disrespected our Mother - abused her - and she is quickly becoming depleted. She needs attention and tender loving care. Hubby and I are working hard to make changes that will reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of energy we consume, the volume of garbage we send to the landfill, and increasing our recycling efforts.  We know we have to do more. I have listed what efforts we currently make and also what we have to do better.

What we do to minimize our negative impact on our environment:

• compost all fruit, vegetable and garden waste
• collect all organic material in our green waste bins
• recycle all eligible glass, paper, metal, and plastic
• reduce waste to one garbage bad every two weeks waste
• buy products in minimal/recyclable friendly packaging
• leave grass cuttings on the lawn as nourishment
• drink tap water - not bottled water
• collect unused water for the plants
• use organic, non toxic cleaning products and laundry detergents
• turn off lights in empty rooms
• use programmable thermostat to reduce energy used
• donate all unused clothing
• repurpose items instead of buying new
• use only  energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs
• buy less packaged food and more fruits, dairy, vegetables, meat and fish
• cooking fresh, from scratch
• reduce the use of plastic - replace with glass
• strive to eliminate chemicals from my personal products entirely
• use cloth bags when shopping and eliminate the use of plastic bags

What we are going to do to minimize our negative impact on our environment:

• collect our rain water for garden use
• change out our 6 cyclinder car for the 4 cyclinder, clean diesel green car of the year
• buy more organic products made from natural, non toxic materials (rugs, bedding, clothing)

Hubby and I have "miles to go before we sleep"  but we are committed to learning more to do our part to respect and care for our Mother Earth.

In honour of Earth Day I am sharing two of my favourite photos taken several years ago on a trip to the Grand Canyon. If you have ever doubted the existence of a higher power, God or life force -- just stand on the edge of the Canyon. The power surges through you and you become instantly aware of being connected to all things living; an intelligence greater than ourselves.  Maybe it is an epiphany that is necessary for humankind; to be awed into being gentle and kind to our Mother.