Earth Day
Where were you on the first Earth Day in 1970?
I was dragging my five little children across the town green while people made speeches. There were no events or activities so, as you might imagine with five youngsters to shepherd, we didn’t stay too long.
Since that first day of speechifying Earth Day has grown into a global event with many events, educational activities, demonstrations of alternative energy, – and even more speeches. Many of us have listened, been educated and been changed since that first Earth Day.
As I look back I know that I didn’t think too much about Earth Day and the issues it was publicizing until I was waiting in long lines for gas in 1973. There was a lot of talk at that time about oil shortages and the inefficiency of our cars. There was also worry about the supply of electricity. For a while there were improvements in our cars and incentives for alternative energy sources.
Then the crisis passed, and many were lulled into another period of complacency.
Still, changes were slowly being made. Organic gardening became more mainstream as the dangers of excessive pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers were more apparent. Not only could those things be harmful to the people who came in contact with them as users or as consumers of things like apples treated with ALAR, but to the environment itself as storm runoff from those chemicals went into our storm drains, streams and rivers, polluting them and killing fish and aquatic life.
The recycling movement has grown and grown. There is a deposit on many bottles and aluminum cans, and other glass bottles, tin cans and now plastic containers can be recycled. We don’t go to the dump anymore. We go to the Transfer Station.
A couple of years ago we bought a loveseat upholstered in a suede-like fabric. Recycled plastic. Very practical. One of the problems with recycling has been solved as innovators have found useful ways of using recycled materials.
At first I only thought about environmental problems in my own country, but now it is clear that these problems cross national boundaries and are truly global. We know the ice caps are melting. We know that dust travels around the world from China and deforested and desertified parts of Africa. These are problems that governments need to work together to solve. We have to remember that in our country, we are the government, and we need to lobby our legislators when environmental issues nationally and internationally are on the table.
Sometimes I feel frustrated and powerless when it comes to those big issues. That’s when I concentrate on what I can do right in my own backyard, literally and figuratively.
We have made small changes in our household that don’t impact our comfort, only our kilowatt use. We invested in LED Christmas lights that use a fraction of the electricity that regular Christmas lights do. We changed our regular lights to compact fluorescent lights that throw a warm light. As necessary we’ve replaced appliances with Energy Star items, most recently an energy and water efficient front loader washing machine.
We are now preparing to do more insulating and put in a new boiler. I’m lucky that we made it through this heating season with the old one. None of these things have any negative impact on the way we live. On the contrary.
We have measurably reduced our energy use. I wish I could say that we saved money, but the electric bill continues to climb. Why is that?
Even though some supermarkets are now recycling plastic shopping bags, I made a new year’s resolution to use canvas shopping bags. I have been more than 75% successful! Sometimes this means I have to go back out to the car where the shopping bags sit, forgotten. But I do it.
Some of these changes are very small, but if I am not the only one making a small change, the impact will be greater. Besides I feel I can’t complain about the problems if I’m not making some effort myself.
Another change that we have become more aware of over the past 30 years is the dangers caused by invasive plants. We have all admired the acres of purple loosestrife along the highway wetlands, never thinking about the plants that are displaced, and the impact of that displacement on the insects and birds that depend on those native plants.
That is a two fold problem. First there is the proliferation of invasive plants like burning bush which it’s now illegal to sell, and second, the necessity of thinking about including native plants when landscaping our yards. We are fortunate in our area to have Nasami Farm in Whately which propagates and sells all manner of native plants that are suitable for the cultivated garden.
Nasami is a part of the New England Wildflower Society with its beautiful Garden in the Woods in Framingham. Nasami opens the weekend of April 17 at 10 AM with a special Grand Opening on Sunday April 20. The celebration begins at 1 PM with refreshments and personal advice about planting. Visitors will also get to meet Matt Kunze, the new propagator and the rest of the staff. Nasami will be open on weekends from April 17 to June 8 from 10-5 PM .
Check out their website www.newfs.org for full information about the organization, the Garden in the Woods, programs, workshops, events and volunteer opportunities.
Enjoy the Earth! Enjoy the day!
April 19, 2008