Happy Earth Day

In celebration of Earth Day, I made a card out of scraps (except for the card base) for my challenge from Monday and the Unity Tweet Tweet (bird) Challenge.

ETA... So I thought I should talk a little bit about what we do to help out the earth...

1. Recycle

We have a great recycling program where we live. Plastics, paper, glass, cans, etc. The only thing I have to take anywhere is my cream cartons. We've also been recycling our electronics too. As much as we can, we try to sell, give away or recycle anything we aren't using anymore. I recycle or donate any paper scraps I'm not using anymore.

2. Compost

We got a compost bin last year and I love it. I have yet to 'harvest' anything out of it but I get great joy every time I open it and feel the heat, see the worms wriggling and the delight in the rich soil that is being produced. Yes, I'm a geek. This has hugely reduced our garbage as we drink a lot of coffee and eat a lot of veggies... now all the ground and veggie scraps get composted.

3. Reducing consumables

As much as we can, we use our water bottles and travel coffee mugs. We aren't perfect but try really hard. In addition, I try to buy things in containers that can be recycled. Nothing frustrates me more when I discover something that is over packaged or has non-recyclable packaging.

4. Reducing energy consumption

We don't use a lot of lights in our house and are really good about turning things off when we are finished using them. The majority of our light bulbs are compact fluorescent and we turn the heat down when we are away and sleeping. In the summer, we hang our clothes outside to dry.

5. Reducing water consumption

This is something we are working on. We turn the water off when we brush our teeth, have reduced the amount we water the lawn and garden, and our shower head is slightly better on consumption than our old one. Our dishwasher and washing machine are quite full when they are run. I'm planning on putting a plastic bottle full of water in our toilet tank to reduce our consumption that way too.

We aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Public transportation where we are is infrequent so we drive. I mostly use eco-friendly cleaning products but not for everything. Still searching for ones that get my clothes and dishes clean enough and get rid of mildew. Karl is planning on building a mason bee house to encourage pollination around the yard. We buy some organic food and buy local produce in the summer (we have several farms really close by - lucky us) but haven't made the move to organic meat.

I'm always looking for simple ways to help out the environment. My brother, who is one of the people I look to for information on the environment, always says the best thing to do is REUSE.... so I'm trying. Damage to the environment is something that really bothers me and I get really discouraged sometimes that we are just not doing enough. However, there is a book that talks about positive things that are going on around the work - Good News for a Change by David Suzuki. I highly recommend it.

Please feel free share any tips you have with me!

Be thankful for our beautiful planet today. Be kind to it. It's the only home we have.

Have a great weekend.

Glenda

Card details:
happy day - 4.25"x5.5"
Stamps: Unity Stamp Co. Following My Heart
Paper: SU! Whisper White and scrap of green stripe, A Muse (blue), Bo Bunny (yellow), Making Memories (gingham)
Ink: A Muse Onyx, Memento Rhubarb Stalk
Accessories: MS glitter, Copic Multiliner