Hug a tree ~ or plant one

I took part in the first Earth Day, back in April 1970. Wow, that's forty years ago! A few years ago I wrote about what happened that day, when I was a university student and went home to three young children.

Have you ever actually hugged a tree?  I have had a favorite tree in every place I've ever lived, but hugging hasn't been part of my routine.  One day, however, I ran out through a drizzly rain to get my mail and stood inside my garage reading a letter from a friend who had recently moved away.  In her letter she asked me to hug the big tree in my yard that was her favorite tree -- and I ran through the drizzle and wrapped my arms around that tree.  Her letter said she knew I would do it, and she was right.  That would have been 1973, I believe.

On Earth Day in 2000 my seventh grandchild was born.  I wrote about Cady's birthday party a few years later.  That was a day I spent mostly at the zoo, before attending her party.

Earth Day has usually been a very good day for me, though I don't have anything special planned to celebrate.  Maybe I'll hug a tree.  How will you spend the day this year?

Time Capsule for Earth Day

Juliet Wilson (Crafty Green Poet) wrote Time Capsule for Earth Day, using the time capsule to preserve the beauty of a skylark's song, the colorful flash of a kingfisher, the fall of a peregrine, and the cadence of a nightingale. Click on the title to read her beautifully expressive words.

I would give you
the song of a skylark
rising thoughtless
into the blue

the blue green flash
of a kingfisher
darting downstream
to the waterfall

the fall
of a peregrine
plunging to catch
its prey

the prayerful cadence
of a nightingale
in the honeysuckle scent
of evening


The RSPB works to conserve birds and their habitat across the UK and beyond.

Time Capsule for Weekend Wordsmith

Earth Day is 22 April 2008. Enjoy the beauty of the earth and help to protect it for future generations.

Eco-exits

Green funerals make for eco-exits
A woman looks into a coffin made of willow at a 'green funeral' exhibition in London, Saturday April 19, 2008. It's no longer enough to live a greener life, now people are being encouraged to be environmentally friendly when they leave the Earth too. Cardboard coffins, shell-shaped urns and fireworks that can be packed with people's ashes were met by smiles at the Natural Death Center's Green Funeral Exhibition Saturday in London. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Wear BLUE

Wear BLUE for Earth Day 2008
to Vote for NO COAL

Want to stop global warming? Wear BLUE for Earth Day 2008! Join millions of people around the world who will be wearing BLUE to signify their vote for NO COAL. Events will be happening April 19th through April 22nd, so...

If you’re attending the Earth Day event on the National Mall in Washington, DC on April 20th, wear BLUE.

If you’re attending another major Earth Day event, wear BLUE.

When you dress in the morning on Earth Day, wear BLUE.

No matter what you’re doing for Earth Day 2008, wear BLUE.

A BLUE shirt, top, sweater or jacket... whatever. Just wear BLUE.

Then, on April 22, make your voice heard. Pick up the phone: Call Congress at 202.224.3121 and ask for an immediate "Moratorium on Coal" -- a halt to the construction of any new conventional coal-fired power plants. Through this Call for Climate event, Earth Day hopes to generate over a million phone calls to Congress!

Your BLUE vote will count. Fifty-nine conventional coal plants were canceled in 2007. That’s over a third of the 151 planned. That happened before millions of people joined together to say No Coal.

BYO Blue for Earth Day 2008. Be the vote that tips the balance.
__________

Help us get the message out:
. . . send this message to everyone you know
. . . attend an Earth Day event wearing BLUE and
. . . on April 22nd, wear BLUE all day - to work, lunch and dinner
. . . make the call to Congress at 202.224.3121, asking for an immediate Moratorium on Coal

What a beautiful Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, which I spent with friends and family. In the early afternoon I went to the Zoo with my friend Emily, where our town was having a party for the earth. Children made bird houses, planted flowers along the walking paths, looked shy as they approached animals in the petting zoo, and generally had a great time. When we got to the pen with camels, one scruffy-looking male came over and gave me the eye, as he chewed and swiveled his lower jaw. I gave HIM a look and said, "Don't bother to spit in my eye; I'm wearing glasses." He didn't.

Where my friends were "manning" the tables, I signed a petition to restore weekly curbside recycling in the City of Chattanooga, picked up literature on climate change and global warming, and found a great pendant that said, "I saw the truth -- An Inconvenient Truth." I asked how much, wanting to buy it, so someone went to ask. "Oh, no, it isn't for sale!" the owner said. "Al Gore gave it to me." To forestall anyone else trying to buy it, she slipped it around her neck. I'm gonna see if I can't find one for myself.

After the zoo, Emily and I went to Home Depot, expecting to hunt down the free compact fluorescent blubs they would be giving away. But there was a table outside the door. We parked, we signed our names and zip codes, and the young woman handed each of us a bulb. Ha, it looks exactly like the one I googled Friday and posted (below). And I finished off the day's adventures by going to another party, for my youngest grandchild, who turned SEVEN today. Everything was GREEN at the Zoo, but everything was PINK at her party. When I got home, my neighbors were celebrating Earth Day by planting flowers. The sun was shining, and the temperature here got up to about 82F (that would be about 28C). It's been a very good day, and now I'm tired and ready to sleep.

Free Light Bulbs This Sunday

... a big "green" help for EARTH DAY, April 22.
Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse has alerted her readers about a "green" bargain: Home Depot will celebrate Earth Day this Sunday by giving away a million free compact fluorescents. These bulbs normally cost $7.99. On the other hand, they could save you $20-$30 on your electricity bill over the life of the bulb. Where do the benefits come from?

Compact fluorescents last ten times as long and use 75% LESS energy than a regular incandescent.

They help improve air quality and reduce asthma rates, since utilities need to burn less energy (think coal-fired power plants) to power the light.

They save time. You can install a CFL and not have to worry about changing that light bulb again for years.

Because they use so little energy, they're a great way to reduce global warming.

WHERE NOT TO USE CFLs:

outside when temperatures are cold
in dimmer switches
on timers

HOW TO DISPOSE OF CFLs:

Compact fluorescents contain minuscule amounts of mercury (5 mlg, compared to the 500 mlg in a home thermometer). Check with your local waste management agency for recycling options and disposal guidelines in your community. Some recommend the bulb be disposed with hazardous waste. Others want it sealed in a plastic baggie and thrown in the regular trash. Best option: Recycle the bulb with www.lamprecycle.org. Some IKEA stores take back used CFLs, too.

WHAT TO DO IF A CFL BREAKS:

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends sweeping up (not vacuuming) the broken glass and loose material; mopping up the remnants with a damp paper cloth that you can dispose of in a sealed plastic bag; and ventilating the room.

P.S. This has not been a paid promotion.

"We have met the enemy..."

This famous Earth Day poster from 1971 seems appropriate today as 1420 Step-It-Up groups gather today to encourage the Senate to push through legislation lowering carbon emissions 80% by 2050.

Earth Day 2007

Earth Day is April 22. I took part in the FIRST Earth Day in 1970 and brought home some literature and at least a couple of buttons I can remember. One button showed a balance on an upside-down V, and the other said "Stop at 2." My son David was interested, so I showed him that the balance had a stick person on one side and a tree on the other, meaning we should balance our human needs with the needs of the planet. The "Stop at 2" button was about population growth and the overpopulation of some parts of the earth. If two parents have only two children, they would not make population growth any worse. After giving it some thought, David said he agreed with the idea. I said, "David, think about it." Suddenly his 6-year-old eyes widened as he realized the personal implications for himself, the third child. Just for the record, I never wore that button.