Earth Week

I keep seeing commercials for living green during Earth Week. I didn't even know there was a whole week dedicated to the Earth, of course that leaves 51 weeks that we don't have to live green?

I have been thinking about what steps Roger and I take to help preserve and improve the environment. We walk to school and work (we spend $20 in gas in a 5 week time period). We recycle. We switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs when our others burn out. We buy organic as much as we can. We drink filtered tap water instead of using singe-use plastic bottled water. We use as little paper as possible, which is still a lot due to school. We do only full loads of laundry. We take short showers. Our computers sleep while we are away from them, saving energy. We bring our own bags shopping most all the time. We read newspapers and magazines online so as not to waste paper. We use environmentally friendly cleansers. We do our best.

We plan to plant an herb and small veggie garden in pots. We plan to buy more produce from farm markets when they open up. We have started biking and will continue to do that more and more. We will buy our meat from the butcher in Virginia Beach as much as possible. We will try to reduce the amount of Ziploc bags used and use more re-usable containers. I will stop coloring my hair (welcome back gray hairs). We will try to do better.

However, I run the water when I brush my teeth. Roger leaves every light on when he is home, but is careful to make sure everything is off when we leave. We won't unplug everything when not in use. We will use the air conditioner when it gets hot. We will drive the car to get ice cream in the evenings when the cravings just won't die. So, while there is a lot we could still do, I'd say we do okay.

I'd send Earth Day cards from Hallmark, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled materials, but since I pay bills online, I don't have any stamps!