Kokua Festival 2007
It may be Tax Day here in the States, but I have Earth Day on my mind. It’s just a week away. The emails I get from the Kokua Foundation in Hawai`i keep reminding me of what can be done to be more green. Every year, Jack Johnson and the Kokua Foundation put on a huge concert at the Waikiki Shell the weekend of Earth Day to raise funds for recycling education in Hawai`i schools. My husband and I went a few years ago and spent the day at the Shell where they had local food vendors that were selling fresh whole healthy foods. Everything used was either recyclable or compostable. The goal was for zero waste. I know there was waste as people weren’t really paying attention to the recycling and compost bins. Between bands/artists, they show a video of the artists’ Earth Day resolutions.
Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder
I posted the question, “What are you to make Earth Day every day?” or something like that on my Facebook status last year on Earth Day. I am always mindful of what I’m doing that impacts our environment and I’m always trying to do more. The majority of the light bulbs in our place are now CFLs. I keep reusable bags in my car for shopping. I have larger reusable ones that I take with me for grocery shopping, as well as small netted washable bags for produce. If I have to use plastic bags for produce, I save them to put waste in that needs to be tied off. Our garbage bags are biodegradable. We have less waste from being on a whole foods diet and now composting, too. My container garden is growing nicely. Although, the spinach is looking a little sad right now. I use non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners and dish soap. If I make my own, I use baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, or essential oils. My bug repellent I use outside the apartment is simply water, lavender essential oil, and tea tree essential oil. It makes for a nice and eco-friendly spray for the mattress and around the apartment. I’ll be adding peppermint to the mix when I need to add more to it. Anything that can be used again, but we don’t want gets donated to the Goodwill that is around the corner from us. I save a lot of things for reusing or repurposing. Mostly reusing, though. I have to admit. I’ve done the reusing nearly my whole life. Granny lived through the Great Depression, so she was big on saving and reusing as a means to save money. I do it to save money and to keep it out of the landfills. I take my own resuable water bottle or mug with me to work and when I’m out and about.
Just last week, I bought us a share in local Community Supported Agriculture through Grasshoppers. I can’t wait for it to start. It is all local produce, dairy, eggs, poultry, and meats that we will get for 6 months. No dairy for us, though. If you can get into something like this and get more local products, the lower your carbon footprint because you aren’t paying for or consuming something that has been imported or brought from across country. The meats and poultry are all pastured and anti-biotic and hormone free. The produce is pesticide-free. Grasshoppers has a relationship with the farmers they are getting the produce from. I am looking forward to this. Not only will we end up spending less at the grocery, but I won’t have to deal with the crowds all the time either. I will have to deal with the afternoon traffic on Shelbyville Road once a week to get to my pick-up area, but it will be so worth it to have the local foods.
I’m going to ask now to get you thinking. What is your Earth Day resolution?
My husband and I waiting for the next band
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