It was with mild surprise that I realized that today is Earth Day. If you know it’s Earth Day today, then you’re probably already environmentally aware and doing what you can to keep us on this planet.
I never liked the term Earth Day. While we are doing a bang-up job of destroying the earth, nature has a way of always reclaiming the land. We’re not really destroying the planet so much as we are making it inhospitable to human beings (and any other oxygen breathing life forms who don’t like their skin to burn.) So, the day should be called “Save the Current Lifeforms on Earth Day”. Or maybe not. Regardless of what it’s called, here’s a few interesting enviro-links that will go well with your composting and recycling:
WireTap hits the road in a veggie car:
Greasecar Fuel Systems – “Greasecar vegetable Fuel Systems allow mechanically injected diesel vehicles to run on straight, filtered vegetable oil. Vegetable oil as fuel is a cleaner, safer and less expensive alternative to petroleum based fuel. It can be locally produced, even grown in your own back yard!”
David Suzuki gives us hope to get our waste together:
Sustainability Within a Generation – “Over-consumption of natural resources and energy are the root causes of Canada?s environmental woes. But reducing consumption does not mean reducing our quality of life. To shift to a sustainable economy, we need to focus on generating genuine wealth rather than continuing to measure progress exclusively in financial terms.”
Phtographer Edward Burtynski reminds us of why we need Earth Day:
Manufactured Landscapes – “These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire – a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction.”
And in 1996, CNN gives some useless advice to kids with waterbeds:
Earth Day for Kids –
“Make your bed!. . .and do the dishes: Everyday chores can help save energy. Leaving a heated waterbed unmade in the fall or winter can double its energy use by letting the heat dissipate into the air.”
I’m off to make my waterbed. Happy Earth Day everybody.
