Earth Day

The first Earth Day was in 1970 and it still remains a big event in the environmental movement. Interest and participation in Earth Day has increased and spread around the world, with millions of people taking part.

I do many things everyday in my life to help the earth: I live in a small house; I walk and bike, and work at home; I buy used stuff and buy locally (to reduce fuel used for transportation; I use the library instead of buying books; I compost, recycle, and grow my own food... 

But it’s alright to ask myself “What more could I do?”

Yes, it’s often more expensive to be environmentally conscientious, but I know that my purchasing decisions have an impact on ecosystems. The companies that produce and sell products depend on my dollars, so they will listen and react to my behavior. Also, my health and my family’s health is at risk! I need to keep my priorities straight. And I need to stretch my limits to action.

Agenda this week:

1. Make some Earth Day art:

We made these tissue paper earth window collages, sealed between two pieces of wax paper.

2. Clean the neighborhood: 

Take a garbage bag with me as I walk in the mornings and go down a different alley each day.

3. Buy less meat: 

Industrial meat production creates nasty waste and health problems. I'm going to return to my practice of two meatless meals a week.

4. Reduce toxic chemicals: 

I have been on a quest to find a good natural floor cleaner. This week I tried this recipe and it seems to work very well:

• Combine 1/4-cup white vinegar, 1-tablespoon liquid dish soap, 1/4-cup baking soda, 2 gallons warm water.

5. Plant more flowers

6. Make Earth Cookies: 

I got this idea from the Almost Unschoolers blog. One correction, though: She says the earth is about 70% water, but it's the earth's surface that is 71% water, not the earth itself. That percentage works fine for these cookies which only show the earth's surface anyway!

Ingredients:

• 2-3/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-c. butter
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• food color
• 3 tsp. baking cocoa

Yield: 2 dozen cookies-

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in an egg. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

3. Divide the dough and color three-quarters of it blue by kneading food color in with your fingers. Color one-eighth green and one-eighth brown with a few teaspoons of baking cocoa.

4. Roll balls of blue dough and add bits of green and brown for the land masses.

5. Place onto lightly oiled cookie sheets and press a little to slightly flatten. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.