It’s 2022, another Earth Day is in the history books and it got me thinking. So many positives! It’s absolutely fantastic that it is recognized the world over; that it sheds light on the environmental crisis and that it can bring out the best in people for the day. That being said, part of me can’t help but notice the yearly cycle of Earth Day protests, sales, pitch in days, kids making planet arts and crafts; then everything reverts back to the old routine, business as usual. It’s time for a bigger change, I believe that every day should be Earth Day.
Only having one day a year with the the planet at the forefront just isn’t enough anymore. Earth day needs to be every day. It’s time to be all in.
What is Earth Day?
If you Google it you might find on Encyclopedia Britannica that it’s an annual celebration honouring the achievements of the environmental movement and raising awareness of the importance of long-term ecological sustainability. It is either celebrated on April 22nd or the spring equinox throughout the world.
What if Every Day were Earth Day?
Think about that for a minute. Would we still need to protest, or even have pitch in day to pick up garbage? Could we even have summers without extreme heat? You may be familiar with the kind of heat that breaks records, kills people and causes havoc on our ecosystem. Heat that causes oceans to warm and rise, that causes major droughts, melts glaciers, causes major forest fires, burns down towns and fills the air with smoke… Ahh, a summer without smoke! Wouldn’t that be nice? Would we have to protect our winters? We can only hope that future generations will be able to enjoy the wonders of our natural environment.
What if every day were Earth Day?
Tricks and tips to live like Earth Day is Every Day
Regeneration
Regeneration is somewhat of a new topic that I have been reading about. This could be a blog post in itself or even a whole new blog. I am still learning about it an won’t pretend to be an expert.
Have a look at Paul Hawken’s book Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation, It’s an amazing place to start. So many thoughtful solutions that can be applied in our lives. It’s an inspiring guide that I recommend to everyone, I truly like his hopeful and informative approach.
Design
Achieve sustainability through fewer and better things.
Consider that waste is a design flaw. Instead use zero waste design principles.
Avoid built-in or planned obsolescence. Look for products that are sustainably designed.
In my opinion, less or minimal design is better.
Minimalism
I do believe that less is more. Finding happiness by removing life’s excesses. Focusing on the important parts of life: your passions, your health, your happiness, your relationships and your purpose.
It’s about questioning what is important in life: what actually adds value? what is necessary? what is useless? It’s happiness through living life itself and not through the elusive happiness of things.
Choose experiences over stuff. Try it for a period of time- be in 1, 3 or 6 months even. How will you feel?
Choose Intention before impulse. Simply buy less but better with a few questions. Do I need it? Do I already have one…
Simplicity is freedom.
Zero Waste
Dedicate some time to reading about zero waste.
Follow simple zero waste principles and frameworks. Redesign, rethink, refuse, reduce, repair, reuse, recycle and rot (compost).
Consume less but better, have a zero waste kit and swap to reusables over disposables. Find products that consider the environment from start to finish.
It can be as simple as a reusable coffee cup or water bottle or even plastic free laundry soap or compostable phone cases… Changing razors can even have an impact.
Avoid plastic and items that are found on beach clean ups
Learn to fix things, you would be amazed at the tutorials to fix things available out there. It feels great too!
Enjoy an ice cream cone over a disposable cup.
And last but not least, saying no is free too.
In the End
It certainly isn’t easy to make major changes all at once. Take on too much at once and it likely won’t stick. Don’t wait until the new year for resolutions. Start small, get used to the change and then tackle another. Before you know it, you will be living like Earth Day is every day. Nobody is perfect and remember that it is too easy to cry hypocrite. It’s a loosing game if we waste our energy calling each other out for our indiscretions. All we can do is aim to be better every day.
Live like everyday is earth day.
What do you have to lose besides the waste? Dive in, tread water and expect to go under once in a while. You won’t drown.
Anne-Marie Bonneau the zero waste chef
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Pat
Pat is a Ski Patroller/Avalanche Technician with a keen interest in design and sustainable living due to a longtime passion for the outdoors. Seeing glaciers melt, seasons change, summer skies full of smoke and beach pollution first hand, motivate him to make a difference.
As Yvon Chouinard Founder of Patagonia says “If you are not part of the solution, you are still part of the problem”.