| Stephen Lewis: Some simple ideas like rinsing with rainwater for Earth Day |
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By: STEPHEN LEWIS, Post Colunmist
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Posted: Sunday, April 26, 2009 7:35 am
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Earth Day? Earth Day? Every day is Earth Day! At least that’s what my mom and dad used to say when I was a kid. No ... wait. That’s not what it was. Oh, yes, now I remember. Every day was Kid Day. That’s what they said when I griped about there being a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day but not a Kid’s Day. You know I never understood what they meant until I had my own. I stand corrected.
But speaking of Earth Day, I suppose we really should think of it as being every day and not just one day a year like we had last Wednesday. Now I’ll be the first to admit I don’t believe in all that global warming hooey but I do realize that we have a limited number of resources and need to pass on enough to future generations. I figure two generations past us is enough to worry about. That would be my kids and grandkids. Sure I may be alive to see great grandchildren but what are the odds that I’ll be mentally alert enough to realize who they are? Not very good I’m betting.
So to ensure there are enough resources for my kids and grandkids I’ve taken some steps in my own life to help conserve while I’m still around. These are easy things you can do as well. You may even think of your own after reading my ideas. Just remember the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
One of the easiest things to do to help the planet is reduce the amount of water we use. Simple things like making sure your dishwasher is full before you run a load and not running a small load of laundry while using the large load setting are simple ways to save every day. But I’ve taken water conservation a step further. You know how some people like to keep the water running while brushing their teeth? Well, I’ve figured out a way to do this but not waste water. This is easy and you can do it too.
What I’ve done is shorten the downspouts in my backyard to about five and a half feet off the ground. If I wake up in the morning and it’s raining I go out back to brush my teeth. The harder the rain the better. And since I brush my teeth first it doesn’t matter that I get a little bit wet. I’ve actually begun to draw up some plans where I reroute my entire gutter system and create a rudimentary bathroom. I’ve got the shower and bathtub figured out but I’m really struggling with a toilet system. I think I’m going to need a really deep hole.
Car exhaust is another area I’m trying to reduce in my life. I realize that as one person I can’t make that big of a dent in the pollution caused by exhaust but I’m certainly going to try. I’ve been toying with an experiment where I shove a washcloth up into the tailpipe of my car. I’ve noticed very little exhaust coming out anymore. I do get a little dizzy when I drive and I’ve noticed I tend to doze off more than I used to but I think it’s probably just age related.
And finally, I don’t know about your family but my family has really begun to reuse many of the packages our food comes in. If you eat a bowl of cereal in my house it’s probably from a butter or sour cream container. If it’s a leftover, it’s most likely going to be in a ham or turkey container. And if you drink out of it, it most likely has an MTSU logo on it or did before it washed off in the dishwasher. I’m going to build a storage shed in my backyard to store all the containers we have accumulated lo, these many years. I think we’ve reached that point referred to as critical mass.
So you can see just some of the simple things we do around my house to make every day Earth Day. Do your part to make our resources last a couple more generations. After that, maybe scientists will have figured out a way to colonize Mars. I think I’ll conserve some energy by cutting off my computer now. Besides, from the looks of things outside, it looks like rain is on the way and I need to go grab my toothbrush. |
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