Happy Earth Day, fellow Earthlings. Although we have made some progress, we still have a long way to go before we can feel confident that our planet will survive the next few generations.
Some of the things to feel good about: In Los Angeles in the 70's, the smog was twice as toxic from vehicle emissions, etc., as it is today, and yet we have twice the vehicles in the area now than there were at that time.
Many of us who shop are picking up a few things and declining to use the plastic bag at all, or bringing in reuseable canvas bags instead.
Of course there are many more easy solutions that most of us may not even know about, much less taking steps to implement; such as:
* Using less (or even none) detergent in our laundry. Not only will this help the environment, it will also leave your clothes actually smelling better (like clean water), feeling better (because you're not wearing all that leftover soap imbedded in your bathtowels and clothes - as an experiment, try rinsing your "clean" towels in the sink and see how much soap you still have in there!) Plus, you'll save MONEY (which I'm sure we can all identify with)!
* Make your own cleaning chemicals! For instance I just ran across a recipe for streak-free window cleaner that costs pennies per batch using 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup alcohol and two cups of just plain water. Try it!
* Lobby your local, state, and federal politicians for more recycling centers. This will also create more jobs!
Update - just saw a posting on Yahoo which made me ill, Sigorney Weaver (Alien(s)) herself just went to testify in person before Congress about the level of acidity in the oceans - apparently the pH level of sea waters has become 30% more acidic in the last generation, and baby oysters and clams are simply dissolving in this acid water before they even have the chance to grow shells.
God bless us all and good luck.
