Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Let's celebrate our great Earth. We should celebrate the moon as well. The Earth just wouldn't be the same without the moon. No high and low tides, no wonderful full moon nights, no lunar eclipses, no waxing and waning. We could have a Moon Day, that might be fun. Lots of people would dress up as werewolves or Luna goddesses. But celebrating the two together makes more sense because of their inextricable unity. And, isn't Earth Day all about how all things are so very connected and the moon just doesn't get enough attention unless someone is landing on it. 

The other thing about Earth Day are the endless tips on how to be "green", and that echoing phrase, that everyday should be Earth Day. Rather than go against the tide today, I am going to jump into the fray and provide some ways to live a little lighter on this incredible, glorious Earth. Here is one that I would only have known from being a mom. If you are like me, a lot of what comes out of your mouth is "Please do this and please don't do that" and yes, I know you don't always say please, and it inevitably starts to morph into "how many times have I told you to_____"  (an unfortunate side effect of parenthood). One of my fill in the blanks is "turn off the lights" (my work is in energy efficiency, more on that in another post).  To reduce the number times that nagging remark is uttered, I installed light motion detectors; no, not the clapper, but very sensitive controls that turn on as soon as you enter a room and then turn off after 5 minutes or so. I use them in the bathroom and in the boys' rooms. You might be thinking that you don't want to the midst of a concentrated effort and have the lights go off. Not a problem, there are manual switches on most controls so you can keep them on for as long as you need. I'm happy to say that this device truly helps both my peace of mind and saves energy. We don't use them in many other rooms because the motion controls don't work with compact fluorescent light bulbs (the energy saving bulbs) or with dimmable bulbs, I wish they did. I like having a light turn on when I enter the room and then not having to remember to turn it off.

Speaking of Earth Day, today's the first day of Cash for Appliances,  you can turn in your old clothes washer, dishwasher, etc and get a rebate from the Feds (your stimulus dollars at work) and combine it with one from your energy utility. These rebates won't last long, it a similar program as Cash for Clunkers. If you have an old energy guzzling appliance, buy one that uses less energy and water (there is a list of appliances that qualify for the rebate). For other energy saving tips try Flex Your Power.    I'm not done, this could have be a very long article given my many years as an environmentalist, but I will keep it short. Another way to make Earth Day everyday, if you're a parent or pack a lunch for work, try practicing the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle in packing lunch. Here's an article that I wrote on how to make a "no waste lunch".

One last thing, the best place for information on how to help your kid's school be a healthy, safe and ecologically sound place for your children is the Green School Initiative, started and run by my dear friend Deborah Moore, a guru in this area. Deborah has done amazing things at her daughter's school and also provides the essential resources for you how you can easily do it too. Have a Happy Earth Day... Earoon Day, Morth Day, EarthMoon Day!