Earth Day Pledge

Earth Day is coming. The official day is April 22nd although most Earth Day activities are taking place on Saturday the 18th. I usually take my children for a hike in Fairystone State Park or volunteer to clean up a nearby trail on Earth Day. This year, though, I wanted to do something different on Earth Day. So, I decided to make a commitment---something that will challenge me and hopefully make a difference.

Git-R-Done

After examining a list of meaningful things I could do to support Mother Earth, I’ve decided that I’m going to stop using plastic bags. I know this isn’t the most incredible thing you’ve read today, and it won’t make headlines, but it’s a big step for me.

Nothing Good About Them

I always knew plastic bags were harmful to the environment but I didn’t know to what extent until I did some checking. This may be old news to you but it opened my eyes.

*People use 500 billion plastic bags each year
*It takes 20 years for plastic bags to break down
*The EPA says only 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled (20% for paper bags)
*The raw material in plastic bags is oil---making us more oil dependent
*A chemical in plastic bags, is linked to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease
*There are more pieces of plastic bags than food in some parts of the ocean
*Some animals mistake plastic bags for food, they eat them, and they die

In the Woods

If you hike, you’ve seen it. You’re walking along, looking at the incredible scenery when something tan or white catches your eye. You look closer and there’s a plastic bag stuck to a branch or under a rock. It’s bad enough that it’s there but unless you go pick it up, it will be there for several years.

Stupid Drawer

I use plastic bags often---rarely at the Fairystone Cabin---but rather at our full time home. We have a huge kitchen drawer there jammed full with them. Last week, the drawer wouldn’t close all the way because some plastic bags fell over the back of the drawer and underneath it, stopping it from closing by an inch. After slamming the drawer closed, only to have it pop open, about 20 times, I began asking myself why we kept all those bags.

So, with Earth Day fast approaching and a kitchen drawer at home that won’t close I thought it might be time to give it a shot. No more plastic bags. I’ve been able to live without them, for the most part, at the cabin. Now it’s time to go plastic bag-free every day.

(Photo by Burton Floyd Photography)