Earth Day 2009 - My Pledge

On this Earth Day, let's think about how we can make a difference in our environment. I am talking about our own "personal" environments. Many people immediately visualize the great outdoors and wilderness when the word "environment" is used. Here are a few of the relevant definitions from Wikipedia's dictionary: (#1 is what I am referring to here)

1. The surroundings of & influences on a particular item of interest (or particular person?)


2. The natural world or ecosystem


3. A particular political or social setting, arena or condition

I feel that each person or family can make a huge difference just by taking small steps. There is a wealth of information out there to help us make our "personal environment" a much better place to be in. Imagine if all of us start improving our individual spaces, it can & will domino into improving the health and well-being of the #2 definition above: The natural world & ecosystem!

I found a great site from the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency that has a list of items that you can pledge to do in your own life that can have a big impact. My pledge is listed below:

To help protect the environment, I pledge to:

• Use less water! Take showers instead of baths, fix leaks, and turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. And buy efficient fixtures by looking for the WaterSense label.
  


• Save electricity! Do a home energy audit, get programmable thermostats, buy Energy Star products, turn stuff off when you’re done, and change your bulbs to compact fluorescents.
  


• Reduce, reuse, recycle! Try to find products with less packaging, take reusable bags on shopping trips, creatively reuse other products, and recycle what's left.
  


• Use chemicals safely! Read pesticide labels carefully. Lock up pesticides, paints, and cleaners where kids can't reach them.
  


• Spread the word! Teach others where you work or go to school. Share online by commenting on our blog, or sharing your photos and videos. Encourage people to Pick 5 for the Environment!

Pledged Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009.

Make your own pledge by visiting http://www.epa.gov/pick5/

I encourage everyone to do what they can on this Earth Day to make our "environments" better places to grow & thrive in!