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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Thinking About Earth Day

There have been numerous articles in magazines and papers showing ways in which people are choosing to help the environment. One girl chose to get rid of her refrigerator (wrapping everything in cheese cloth... how does that work?), while I read about a single mom with four children who decided to get rid of her dryer(!)


I grew up with the whole Smokey Bear scene, so of course I was taught not to litter or to play with matches (like I would anyway!). Later on, recycling became a common part of our lives. After that, using the golf cart to run errands (easy to do in this town), buying organic and natural (when we could afford it), and using low energy light bulbs were a few ways we could help.


I have to say that I cannot imagine living without my fridge or dryer. The people in the articles discussed how our great-great-grandmothers went without these appliances and had no problems with it.


I find that hard to believe. They went without voting or using epidurals either, and I like having those things in my life, too.


My husband made a comment about us (that would just be "me") not using the dryer anymore. "We could hang our clothes outside like they used to."


This comment came from a man with severe allergies and asthma. Can you imagine hanging our sheets outside to dry, then bringing them back into the house covered with this nasty Atlanta pollen?


I don't think that's going to work.


Now, this isn't a post to look down upon people that have made serious sacrifices. Rather, I'm just trying to say that every method isn't for every person. I think the actual theme of Earth Day (at least, this is what I get out of it) is to just do what you can. It's not an all-or-nothing holiday.


With that in mind, here's a great list of "50 Easy Ways to Save the Planet". You probably do several of these already! (Sorry to say that I just can't seem to handle #6 on the list...)

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