Happy Earth Day! Today more than a billion people will be joining in to figure out ways to safeguard the planet and demonstrate their support for a more sustainable future while they gather throughout the world to observe Earth Day. Although environment changes certainly are a serious and frightening issue, I’m hoping you will be making this day enjoyable for both you and your kiddos by steering clear of the negativity Earth Day discussions may bring. Take action to protect our wonderful planet by doing something positive instead, such as creating art with outside natural treasures, visit the zoo and mention wildlife conservation, or discover ways to reduce your household energy consumption.
I have five simple green steps you can do with your children to show your support that won’t break the bank and will help teach them the importance of recycling, conserving precious resources, and giving back to the earth.
1. Turn off the tap water when brushing your teeth. You can save nearly 8 gallons of water a day simply by turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and at night.
2. Donate gently-used clothing, shoes, and household items to your local shelter. You will be helping someone in need and also teaching your children the importance of reusing an item. By recycling clothes and unwanted household items we cut down on energy and materials used to make new products. Reusing helps the planet, saves money, and reduces waste. Additionally, you will be eliminating the clutter in your home too!
3. Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products. Gather up your toxic household cleaning products and replace them with homemade effective earth friendly inexpensive ingredients like baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. Harmful ingredients from household cleaning products make their way into the environment via flushed toilets, pouring down sinks, spraying them in the air, dumping on the ground, landfills and other various routes. Once the toxins are released into the environment they contribute to depletion of the ozone layer, water pollution, ground contamination, and harm vegetation plus animal life. Not to mention, you will also be saving yourself money, bettering your families health, and reducing allergies by making your own eco-friendly cleaners. Your kids will love helping you mix up the non-toxic cleaners !
4. Clean up a local park. Take a few moments to talk to your children about the importance of not littering while picking up and properly disposing of old cigarette butts, snack wrappers, beverage bottles, and take-out food containers found at the park grounds. Please make sure to use GLOVES! Did you know a discarded cigarette butt takes 12 years to break down? If that’s not awful enough, when it is slowly deteriorates it releases toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into soil and waterways. YUCK!
5. Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting. Head to your local dollar store and pick up some CFL’s to replace your energy hog old incandescent light bulbs! Switching to CFLs, LEDs or even halogens can reduce your annual lighting bill by 75%! Wasting less energy helps the planet and saves you a buck in the process!
A have tons more ideas, like planting a tree, purchasing reusable shopping bags, replacing one dinosaur household appliance to something more energy efficient, enjoying the clouds and trees, and more! However, I want to get off this computer and enjoy me Earth Day, so I’ll leave those suggestions for another time! Nonetheless, no matter how you plan on celebrating your day I wish you the very best! Peace out!
I have already done the things that you mention and I have to say there’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling that you’re passing down the most important values to the younger generation. What I liked about this year’s Earth Day was that so many children around the world became part of it. I subscribe to the theory that education is the best way to raise awareness about environmental issues and that’s why I appreciate the initiative launched by the authorities of my native Toronto who decided to organize a number of biodiversity workshops and other attractions so every member of my family could learn a little bit more about the protection and conservation of biodiversity in our province.