Today is Earth Day… Celebrate Life!
Posted by msterilinn on Apr 22, 2008
Although I am mindful of this wonderful and beautiful Earth each and every day, today is as fine as any to create awareness. As folks celebrate world-wide, I send out my heartfelt prayers for the healing and preservation of this Sacred planet.
We lost a Great and Ancient tree to the machinations of modernization, just recently. My daughter and I have loved to walk a path through the trees near a river by our home. Along this path lived a beautiful Cottonwood tree, the largest I have ever seen, standing watch over all the smaller plants and trees nearby. Each time we passed this Ancient Spirit we would stop and touch it, giving a prayer of thanks for the air we breathe and the wonderful shade provided during hot days. Although we love all that is green and natural, this Ancient One held a special place in our hearts. It had been here for much longer than the ugliness of some places nearby, and brought a timeless beauty to this place.
Last week we were walking across the river from this favourite tree, and I stumbled when I looked to see this tree. I could not seem to catch my breath and tears came to my eyes. My daughter grew concerned and asked me what was wrong. When I could speak I pointed across the river with a heavy heart. Our dear and beautiful tree still stood, yet all of it’s branches had been cut off. This still-living tree was about to be cut down, for no reason that I could see. It was still healthy and strong! I felt the pain of this quite deeply, and was so sad!
We crossed the river the next day. I truly dreaded approaching the part of the path where this Great tree had lived for so long. It still stood, and I swear I could feel the pain of this poor tree as it stood, with all of its branches full of new life, lying in piles around it. My daughter was very sad as well and asked me why. Why had they done this to a tree in a place where nothing was to be built and the tree represented Life, and was no danger to folks walking? I do not know why… so I approached the tree and offered tobacco to the spirit of this Ancient One. I cried and prayed and asked forgiveness for man’s folly. We said goodbye to this wonderful tree that had given us such pleasure and comfort on our many walks. This place no longer brought me pleasure, and I am not certain we shall return. I prefer to stroll in the wild places that man has not touched.
Each day it is good to take time to honor Life, and all living things. We do not own this planet… we are just here for a little while. The Earth is Ancient, and generous in her gifts. It is only right to be thankful for what we have been blessed with, and to teach our children to be caring and thankful as well. This is part of the great Balance. So each day, let us promote Life by planting seeds, and nurturing our gardens and forests. Let us care for each other as well.
Here are a few helpful tips to get started…
Reduce - Reuse – Recycle; bring your reusable grocery totes. If you must buy disposables, buy paper products rather than plastic or Styrofoam. The manufacture of Styrofoam depletes the ozone layer.
Conserve water, waste not and fix leaks.
Use fewer harmful chemicals and pollutants, and dispose of them properly.
Try to use phosphate-free laundry and dish soaps.
Don’t use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand.
Save your kitchen scraps for the compost pile.
Boycott tuna or buy only “dolphin-safe”
Use Seafood Watch to choose seafood that’s good for you, and good for the oceans.
Volunteer your time to conservation projects.
Participate in stream and beach cleaning programs.
Become more involved in marine environmental issues.
Vote for candidates that share your sentiments.
Write your legislators when you have an opinion about pending legislation on environmental, land use and other issues.
Plant native, insect resistant, trees and shrubs in your backyard to provide food and shelter for birds and other creatures.
Pull weeds instead of using herbicides.. Learn about natural insect controls as alternatives to pesticides.
Use public transit.. Ride your bike or walk instead.. Drive a more gas efficient car.
Let’s recycle those Plastics!
Posted by msterilinn on Mar 28, 2008
Okay, now this is pretty serious. Although I am totally against creating products that are dangerous for our health and the environment, I truly believe we must dispose of the containers we are stuck with using in the proper way. And recycling is so very important! People may think “Oh, it is just one little container… it can’t possible cause too much harm”. Wrong! If everybody says that even once, and follows through without recycling, imagine the millions of non-biodegradable objects filling our landfills, or polluting our paths and highways? Where does it end, and how can we stop those littering all over our beautiful Earth?
HDPE (short for High Density Polyethylene) is a commonly used plastic which can be recycled. “HDPE Scrap” is the collected material which is then sold to be recycled.
Recycling HDPE products, especially post consumer products such as shampoo bottles, detergent bottles, fabric softener bottles, and milk bottles saves tonnes of landfill space every year. It is still lamentably true however, that much of the HDPE products produced in North America will not be turned over for recycling, and will find their way into landfills, exacerbating the environmental problems that the USA, much like many other countries, faces on a day to day basis.
It is not only traditional manufacturers who seek to use scrap HDPE in their products either. Environmentalists, and green companies are also turning to scrap HDPE as a source of raw material.
If you do not already have a recycling program in effect in your community, perhaps you can get together with folks and create a way to gather these plastics, as it appears there is a demanding market and a great need for recycled materials. This is an economic as well as environmentally wise path to a greener, cleaner Earth.
Visit Raw Polymers LTD to learn more about finding a market for our recycled plastics.
