Earth Day was Yesterday, Now What?

Most people know that yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day. But aside from donning an earth friendly t-shirt (largely by accident), I didn't to much for the planet.

What would have done if I had really been thinking about it?

I asked Twitter if they were doing anything special for Earth Day; here are the responses:

	gradontripp @skalik I took the T to work today. Wait, I do that everyday!
	DougH @skalik I'm reading the 96-page glossy print edition of the NYT Sunday Mag's "green" issue

Despite the mild heckling, these folks raise some good points. Here a few ideas for greening your day to day:

-Green Tactics-
Transportation
Ride a bike, take the T (or any other form of public transit), or just walk.

Cut Paper
In any way you can. Read books, articles, magazines and newspapers online (when possible). Go paperless with bank statements, bills and receipts. Finally, think before hitting print on emails or anything--ask yourself if you'll ever look at that piece of paper again. If the answer is no, but you already hit print, find yourself a big blue recycling bin and get busy!

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse: Beyond the Basics
Recycle: Take the Nike approach and Just Do It! Get some bins and look for the recycling logo on packaging before you throw it away. You'd be surprised how much can actually be recycled--everything from dog food cans to cereal boxes to plastic forks and knives.

Reduce: Consider the packaging before making that purchase. Is it excessive? Can any of it be reused? For example, buy one big bag of chips, instead of a box of little bags, and put 'em in a reusable container for lunch.

Reuse: (Will I be able to define it without using the word itself?) Purchase and utilize the same item over and over again, as long as you can, before replacing it. Look for ways to get more life out of packaging.


There's always more we can do for the earth. Small changes can make everyday Earth Day. If Earth Day were tomorrow, what would you do differently?