One Planet to Love & Protect

That’s my Six Words for the Planet today, in honor of it being Earth Day! Even though everyday is Earth Day to me, I still get pretty darn excited this designated day.

Celebrating my 5th year of becoming more environmentally conscious and sharing the message with others, is a really big deal to me. It really was a tipping point, when I watched Oprah’s Earth Day program in 2007 and learned about green cleaning products, reusable grocery bags, energy reducing electrical strips and more.

My 5-year old, reusable grocery bags from Ecobags, are still be used on a daily basis. Other than needing an occasional washing, they are fully intact! Since, the average person uses 350 to 500 plastic bags a year, that’s one heck of a lot of plastic that we’ve kept out of the landfills!

We also recycle at my house, even though our local community doesn’t provide any curbside recycling options….YET! My husband has set aside an area in our garage, where we have our little home-made bins or reused containers, to separate cardboard, newspapers, plastic, tin, aluminum, etc. It requires an occasional trip to the local recycling center, but it REALLY is painless

Our family has also reduced our electrical energy consumption with Smart Saver Strips and compact florescent lighting (CFL). There is a lot of controversy over CFL’s and I believe that LED will eventually be safer and have more benefits.

Buying locally grown food is another way to help our Mother Earth. With such purchases, CO2 emissions are greatly reduced due to less transportation costs, etc.

The list is endless and not necessarily too expensive or inconvenient, to create eco-friendly habits that will be good for our planet. For more ideas, you can go to Earth911’s website, for some excellent ideas and information.

Remember, we only have One Planet to Love & Protect (for now) ~ Happy Earth Day !!

It was in April of 2007, that I felt compelled to watch Oprah’s Earth Day show. Little did I know, that it would be pivotal point in my life and that of my family.

What changed, was my perception of the sustainability of this planet, related to my actions or inaction. Quickly, I began to learn that there were numerous activities that I conducted in my life, that could be having a negative impact on the future of the planet.

I began on a crash course of seeking out information about the environment; climate change, sustainability, environmental stewardship, natural foods and supplements, to name a few. It started out being somewhat overwhelming, and naturally, it still can be, but I knew that I must become informed and engaged in making some personal changes.

So here I am, 5 years later!

And, in those last 5 years, I have learned a lot and tried to make some significant changes in my family’s impact on the planet and environment. Needless to say, I am certainly NO expert, and still have so much more to learn and do.

But, I do feel that I have made some type of difference and have tried to share what I’ve learned with others along the way. And, because of what I had learned, I have been absent from my blog for a few months.

The reason being is that I have been fighting the good fight in my home state of Idaho, against hydraulic fracturing (fracking). I can’t say that ‘we’ have been very successful thus far, but I do know that it is a battle that is not over and deserves continued education for the community, our elected officials and even the gas and oil industry.

So, onward I march into my next 5 years of discovery, awareness and education for myself and anyone else who would like to make a difference.

Blessings to everyone!

Special Earth Day Healthy Home Kit

For a limited time, starting today – Earth Day (4/22), at the time that you join Shaklee, you can also purchase a very special selection of Get Clean® products that includes Basic H2 (16 oz), Two Spray Bottles, Get Clean Super Microfiber Cleaning Cloths, Get Clean Dish Wash Liquid Concentrate, Get Clean Fresh Laundry Concentrate (32 oz), and Shaklee Energy™.

This offer is worth over $85 and is only available to new members at the time of sponsoring, at the amazing Member Price of $30.*

To take advantage of this  phenonemal offer, just go to my Shaklee website. You can also email me for any questions you may have at asklizfirst@gmail.com.

Happy Earth Day !!

“Treat the earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.”

This week is designated Earth Week and the 22nd of April is Earth Day. It’s also marks the 4th anniversary of my journey of being a more responsible caretaker of this beautiful planet.

There are a plethora of things that one can do, to be more environmentally conscious and reduce their carbon footprint. I will be sharing 3 of the ways that I try to do that. These are 3 ways that I celebrate Earth Day, every single day and you can also.

Using Safe & Non-Toxic Cleaning Products

I started out 4 years ago, by purchasing and using non-toxic cleaning products. Not only did I figure out that these type of products were less harmful to the planet, but they are less harmful to humans also.

As, I’ve written about recently, there has been very little regulatory control over the ingredients used in products for many years. This will get better eventually, but in the meantime, I don’t have to worry because I have done my homework and use safe products that don’t contain toxins.

Using Reusable Shopping Bags

I also started using reusable shopping bags at about the same time. Four years later and I’m still using my original Ecobags that I purchased. The Ecobags are manufactured using environmentally. socially responsible goods and are still in excellent condition.

Based on some online statistics, my family has probably avoided using from 750 to 1,000, single-use plastic bags a year, by using reusable bags instead. That means, that over the last 4 years, my family may have kept up to 4,000 plastic bags from being used. WOW, I hadn’t thought of it that way before!!

Pati Robinson from The Cleaner Earth Project recently shared some amazing information about the impact plastic bags have on our environment and what you can do to make a difference. I’ve listed a few below, but if you read the entire article on Daytime’s website, I do believe you’ll raise an eyebrow more than a few times.

Instituting Some Basic Recycling Processes

Prior to my new outlook for the planet, I had only recycled aluminum cans and newspaper. But, after a minimal amount of research, I learned where I could recycle many other household items, such as; tin cans, magazines, shredded paper, cardboard and more.

Putting into place some type of recycling routine into your household is relatively painless. It only takes a little effort to develop a habit of recycling and once you have, you wonder why you hadn’t been doing it a long time ago.

Here’s some excellent benefits to recycling that the EPA lists:

• Recycling protects and expands U.S. manufacturing jobs and increases U.S. competitiveness.
• Recycling reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
• Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials.
• Recycling saves energy.
• Recycling decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.
• Recycling conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
• Recycling helps sustain the environment for future generations.

I hope you are encouraged to start and/or continue a lifestyle of purposefully making decisions that are better for the planet. Also, please share some of the other ways that you help the planet on Earth Day or anyday. And, if you’re looking for more ideas, please go the Earth Day website for ideas and resources.

Well, as I write this Earth Day post, I am moved to reflect more on this designated day’s meaning. And as I do, I am humbled to think that every day is Earth Day. For, without an Earth, there wouldn’t be ME !

So, I’d like to share a link to an inspiring Earth Day video that I received this week. There are tidbits of thoughts and perceptions of many people in the video, about what being environmentally conscious means to them.

Some of the comments that really stood out to me were:

- Ripple Effect
- Take Responsibility For Yourself
- Do 1 New Thing For The Planet Each Day
- The Environment is Us
- Ethical Lifestyle
- Be A More Thoughtful Consumer
- Be A More Thoughtful Human Being
- We Are Borrowing The Earth
- What Are We Leaving Our Children?

Please view the short video and let’s continue to make everyday: Earth’s Day.

I have made a lot of changes (transitions) in my lifestyle since then, and one of them was purchasing and using reusable bags for shopping. I must admit that its taken me awhile to get into the habit of using them, but it’s become a pretty solid one these days.

I’m still using the same reusable bags that I purchased online from EcoBags, two years ago. My initial order included four canvas/cotton tote bags and an assorted pack of string vegetable bags. I’m careful not to overload the reusable bags, and because of that, they’re like brand new.

All my EcoBags are still in pristine condition. No rips, tears, discoloration, nothing ! And a bonus that I really like is that string bags are very stretchable. So, when I’ve purchased more at the market than will fit in my canvas totes, I can spillover into the string bags.

Besides keeping plastic bags out of the oceans and landfills, I was able to more than recoup my initial expense for them, when stores were offering a .05 cent credit, for bringing your own bags to the store. But, even if I hadn’t received that great unexpected rebate, I’m still helping the planet and making it Earth Day, everytime I go to the store! ]]> http://asklizfirst.com/uncategorized/reusable-bags-paid-for-themselves-over-over/feed 1 http://asklizfirst.com/uncategorized/great-reads-for-earth-day http://asklizfirst.com/uncategorized/great-reads-for-earth-day#comments Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:14:00 +0000 Liz http://asklizfirst.com/uncategorized/great-reads-for-earth-day
My new friend, Alix Gnoske Davila, from Recycle Me Organic Cotton T-Shirts, has a blog post this week that lists some great reading material on environmental issues and pioneers of the environmental movement. While at her blog, please check out the very cute Eco Chic T’s that she offers.

Another great book that I’ve previously mentioned in this blog, is Green Goes With Everything by Sloan Barnett. A New York Times Best Seller, the book has some easy suggestions and is very educational.

And then, check out the Green Goes With Everything website, and calculate your Body Burden score. This test shows you about the pollution exposures to your body. After calculating your score, you can use the tips in Sloan Barnett’s book to reduce your exposures.

A quote from Nelson regarding Earth Day:

“Earth Day achieved what I had hoped for. The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political arena. It was a gamble, but it worked. An estimated 20 million people participated in peaceful demonstrations all across the country. Ten thousand grade schools and high schools, two thousand colleges, and one thousand communities were involved …. That was the remarkable thing that became Earth Day.”

So, almost 40 years since Earth Day’s inception, people are really just starting to wrap their minds around the concept that taking care of the planet is our responsibility. What are you doing and what else can you do, to make an even bigger impact? Earth 911’s website has some great suggestions and fun ways to incorporate new habits that will positively benefit our beautiful planet.

We’ve only got one Earth, it’s up to us, to take care of it.