Earth is my favorite planet. I love everything about this planet we call home. I love when the purple camas blooms in the spring and the fuzzy native bumble bees buzz from flower to flower. I love when the wild phlox blooms amidst the balsam root (sunflowers) in our pine forests. I love hearing the redwing black birds trilling in the wetlands and seeing moose and coyotes in my neighborhood.
I worry about our earth and all her plants and animals as the climate changes. I worry as the climate warms that wildflower bloom timing and hummingbird migrations will be mis-matched, and the hummingbirds will decline. I worry that our river’s spring flow timing will be changed due to less snowpack, and the high flows will not match the return of the salmon or will blow out the redds (salmon eggs in the gravel). I worry about the robins and other birds suffering in our long strings of 100 plus degree days. I worry about us and the wildlife losing our habitat and homes to increased and prolonged wildfire seasons.
I try to change my worry to solutions, even if they are small solutions.
I try to use less stuff, especially unsustainable plastics. I try to remember my shopping bags, or to leave a store without bags when I forget. If I end up with plastic bags despite my best intentions, I reuse them. I rarely buy plastic garbage bags for the house; I use what I have for kitchen garbage liners.
We keep recyclables and take them to the transfer station. However, I have learned that much of what is called recyclable, isn’t actually recycled. So again, I try to reduce. Corrugated cardboard and aluminum cans are quite recyclable, however. So I often drink wine out of a can instead of a bottle. Hot to trot wine in a can is perfectly decent, plus there is a horse on the label! Well, there used to be a horse on the can. Furthermore, the can is the perfect size to stop me from drinking more than I should. Reducing consumption of wine can’t hurt; good for the earth and good for me.
In my garden I am planting flowers for the pollinators and the bumble bees. I am also slowly changing one part of the vegetable garden to permaculture and edible landscaping, with herbs, berries, and bushes that are not tilled up each spring. Even if I don’t eat all the berries, the birds will. I am letting the dandelions thrive in my lawn. I love the bright burst of yellow against the green, and I love the perfection of the round feathery seedheads. So do the goldfinches.
In my house I conserve energy by turning down the heat, especially when a room isn’t being used. I have replaced our water heater with a more efficient on-demand heater, and I bought a more efficient pellet stove last year.
I try to carpool to events with friends when feasible, and not only do I save gas, I get to chat with my friends. I own a fuel-efficient car. I admit I also drive a fuel hungry (maybe I should call it ravenous) truck to haul my horse, but even there I minimize trips or double up with a friend’s horse or horse trailer when possible. Should I call this trailer-pooling? Ride sharing for Riders?
Earth day is a time to reflect on how I can better reduce, reuse, recycle… but mostly reduce. In short, I try to buy less stuff, and will often buy used stuff instead of new stuff. I can support the birds and the bees with flowers, native plants, and edible landscaping. I can reduce my carbon footprint in many more ways than I have listed here; heck, one could write a book about it. I try to be purposeful and consider my choices and the impacts of those choices. My goal is to do what I can to keep some of the resources of this beautiful earth for my children and grandchildren to enjoy. Plus, it’s for the birds.
Michelle Eames 