Everday is Earth Day

Did you hear that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace prize for his work on "An Inconvenient Truth"? (along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.) Hats off to Al for caring about the environment, the world and global warming. I have seen the movie just once, but it moved me to do better. I learned a lot and in simple terms the message of the movie was: Carbon dioxide and other gases are warming the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising. Droughts and heat waves will happen more often. Glaciers are melting and severe storms are increasing. Global warming is real and it has been caused by our actions, not by some natural occurence.
Since watching the movie, I have vowed to do better. Recycling comes to mind as our city offers a "Recyclables" bin and picks it up every Saturday morning. I keep telling my husband that "everyday is earth day." I am sure that he is tired of hearing it as I drive off in in my SUV, but I really am trying to make a difference. The topic came up at family dinner the other night and it was nice to hear that all the family is really trying to do their part to recycle. It is so easy to throw that water bottle in the recyclables along with paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard. So this is my 2 cents, please help where you can. Below are some simple and very do-able tips how all of us can help save the earth.

1. Replace a lightbulb with a flourescent lighbulb.
2. Walk, Bike, Carpool if you can
3. Recycle!
4. Keep your tires inflated properly (it can save you money on gas!)
5. Use less hot water (it takes energy to heat that stuff up!)
6. Cut down on your garbage and packaging
7. Turn up thermostat by 2 degrees in summer and down 2 degrees in the winter (except if you are pregnant!) :)
8. Plant a tree
9. Turn off your electronic devices when you are not using them.
10. And of course, spread the word!