Happy April, Happy Spring!
Songbirds. Hummingbirds. The bees. It's Earth Month (https://www.earth-month.org/) and Earth Day is coming up on Sunday the 22nd.
So with Mother Earth in mind, and knowing that our environmental crisis is rapidly worsening, I've got this itch to take a some action.
You may thinking the same, if you've been paying attention.
The foundation of my itch is this: The typical stuff we've all been doing - in the name of helping the environment - just doesn't cut it any more.
The crisis is far outpacing our common and routine practices we've folded into our busy lives. Depressing? Yeah. I'm with you.
For over 20 years the mantra has been stuck at: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
For me, I've been slipping on these, and need to get back on track, with some added changes. Not easy, but I am going to try.
I will be adding: Repair, Refuse and Rethink. Borrow and Make too.
Repair something to extend it's life. Get creative. Upcycle some other materials as part of the process. Or seek services that can do this. I've discovered a shoe repair place. But the guy also repairs handbags, luggage and backpacks.
Refuse and Rethink are tightly integrated. I want to slow down and think about what I am about to purchase, engage in, participate or accept before doing so.
Think before impulsively acting on a purchase? Ugh, again: not easy.
Refuse that free plastic bottle of water. Rethink that purchase - if the claims that are presented on the label seem suspicious - or the ingredients include something nasty or harmful.
Experts in the environmental crisis agree that the single most impactful thing we can all do is simple:
Buy.
Less.
Stuff.
The resources of manufacturing, shipping, labor and retail are so huge, so towering yet so invisible, we forget the price that dear Mother has paid for the convenience.
What really sucks is that Government, Industry and Big Business - which we sometimes want to lead the way, are now making things worse. Much worse.
More drilling & fracking. More wilderness removed. More fossil fuel. More carbon output. More acidic oceans. More loosening of EPA rules. Higher global temperatures. More bullshit, that's what I say.
[Above: Refugio Beach]
Yeah, we want to wait until everyone else is helping first. Wait until it's more convenient. Wait until we're ready. Wait till we have more time. More motivation. The waiting should end right now.
So, yeah, not an uplifting message. I have re-written this for about a month trying to lay off the "gloom and doom" narrative, but that is sort of the foundation that we find ourselves.
I've been hanging out at the Good News Network lately. (https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/). It's a nice reprieve!
Yes we are all busy, which makes these efforts all the more challenging. Rethink your busy life too.
What parts could be changed to bring calm, time, clarity and opportunity to breath easy?
Maybe nothing for the moment. But keep chipping away at that that thought. Hold it close. Examine the possibilities to reclaim some sanity and relaxation.
Let me know if I've got you thinking. If you've got the itch too. If you will try to fold in some added effort. I want to know that it's not just me 😊
To start, I'm going to grow some tomatoes.
A small start but it's a start. Food composting will be next.
Still doing a ton of cycling instead of driving, so I am happy about that.
Also, Amazon is in my scope too. Will our life be measured by the pile of Amazon Prime boxes in our garage? Really?
Despite all the environmental crimes humanity has committed to her, dear Mother has graced us with yet another round of spring booms, nesting birds and their joyous songs.
Get out and enjoy them and do some thinking.
Happy April.
Happy Spring.
Happy Earth Month.