Earth Day 2018: Using Less Plastic, and Videos to Make You Think

Earth Day was started April 22, 1970. This year, we continue to celebrate the gifts of the Earth, our home, and try to be less careless about how we treat it.This year's theme is End Plastic Pollution. Consider...

• Re-usable cloth bags for shopping mean less plastic in landfills or recycling
• Use a washable and re-usable cup or water bottle instead of using disposable plastic ones
• Re-think that six pack of pop with the plastic ring device holding them together: They choke birds and animals when found in landfills or water
• Wash and re-use a glass container rather than buying something new in a plastic container
• Wrap sandwiches in butcher paper  or waxed paper instead of a plastic sandwich bag

• Donate to Goodwill...but buy from them as well, instead of getting something new
• Dispose of that last bit of paint at a waste-disposal location, don't throw it in the trash
• Challenge yourself to create less trash and recycling
• If you see garbage in the street (or anywhere), pick it up
• And don't simply toss something out a window or throw it on the ground. Throw it away!
• Use it up, wear it out, or do without 

Here are some videos that may make you think about what you can do to pollute less and cultivate more.

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day+2018&&view=detail&mid=BBCE723B88468D68B0BBCE723B8846AB8D68B0&&FORM=VRDGAR

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day&&view=detail&mid=651D5DA904BE91E4F269651D5DA904BE91E4F269&
Give Earth a Hand:  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day+hands&&view=detail&mid=6230388156EF924AC7CA6230388156EF924AC7CA&&FORM=VRDGAR

Tiny Houses

There's a new trend in housing: Tiny houses.

 

Some facts about tiny houses:

• They are usually built on a platform with wheels so they can be moved easily
• Space-efficient:storage is tucked away everywhere
• Sometimes they are solar-powered
• They can be built by the owner or someone else
• Tiny homes have features like any other house, only on a smaller scale, including washers, air conditioning, bathrooms, electricity
• They can be as tiny as 65 square feet up to about 900 square feet (the size of a 1960s rambler is about 1100 square feet)
• They are kinder to the planet: They use less materials to build, less electricity or gas for fuel, and create less waste

Here's some facts about housing costs--quite eye opening:

 

 

Advantages:
Less stuff: How much do we really need?
George Carlin about stuff:  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=george+carlin+stuff&&view=detail&mid=0C9D83F33FC270ECA0790C9D83F33FC270ECA079&FORM=VRDGAR

 

• Smaller spaces are cheaper to heat and air-condition
• Minimal outside and inside maintenance
• Less stuff = less to clean up
• You'd learn to be better at food consumption--not a lot of storage
• You could live by the advice of: Make do, use it up, do without
• Deciding what to wear would not be a problem
• Cleaning house would take very little time
• They discourage consumerism, the habit of obtaining more to impress others
• As such, a tiny house confirms that 'things' aren't going to make you happy
• You will value and take care of those few things you really want to have
• You could stay in one place or move whenever you wanted to
• If your neighbors bother you, you can just move
• If you know someone with land, you could park your tiny house there and pay no rent
• You may be able to use campground hookups to temporarily park your home
• You won't need any yard equipment: Lawn mower, snow blower. A shovel for snow, maybe. There's nowhere to put them anyway.
• It is your own home, as opposed an apartment
• Would you rather have a tiny house that's affordable, or a big house you can barely pay for?

Here are some ways a tiny house makes better use of minimal space:

 

 

 

 

 

Disadvantages:

• If you like to have a lot of stuff, that would be a problem
• Close quarters can make it hard to live with someone-or not
• With a roommate, you'd have to agree on what stuff to bring into the house
• Often, the bed or one of the beds will be in a loft with very little headroom
• Permits to park your tiny house can be difficult to get
• Also, hookups for water or electricity might be a problem sometimes
• You would not have a garage. This could be a problem in a state with a long winter.
• You would need a P O Box to use as your address, perhaps one in several areas, in order to receive mail.
• Having an established doctor might be an issue

 

 

 

The first thing you'd have to do if you were considering a Tiny House, is to pare down your belongings to a bare minimum. This is, of course, hard to do if you already have a 'regular' sized house or apartment. If you are still living with your parents and/or in an apartment, it might be easier.

 

 

Here's one company that builds them or sells kits so you can do it yourself. Check out a few of their models:

 

https://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/tiny-houses-for-sale/elm/

 

Here's a video tour of a tiny house:  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=53E82D2E3E86D9D24DE953E82D2E3E86D9D24DE9&&FORM=VDRVRV

 

Here's a tiny house that's pretty fancy:

 

Here's a little community of Tiny Houses in Portland, Oregon:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=3079CC125D1AC8CB28443079CC125D1AC8CB2844&&FORM=VDRVRV

 

Besides the obvious advantage of saving money on a house, imagine what they could do for the homeless: Wouldn't it be better to have somewhere safe, warm, and dry to sleep at night? A place where you call home, no matter how small? Check this out: People building tiny houses for the homeless:

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tiny+houses&&view=detail&mid=73E437E9D273CBD100B073E437E9D273CBD100B0&rvsmid=F142E7126782E063C3DEF142E7126782E063C3DE&fsscr=0&FORM=VDQVAP

 

 What do you think? Could you live in a tiny house? Would it be rewarding to you? Does it make you re-think traditional housing?

The Amazing Tree

Did you know that trees do amazing things? Like...........

• They absorb carbon dioxide, helping keep our air clean to breathe
• One tree releases 260 pounds of oxygen in a year, enough to sustain 2 people
• They help retain our soil
• They provide a barrier to glare from cars on our streets
• In its lifetime, one tree can absorb a ton of carbon dioxide

• A mature tree removes 70x more pollution than a newly-planted tree
• A tree in an urban (city) area may have a lifespan of only 8 years
• White and Red Pines can live for 100-150 years
• Maple Trees can live 150 years or more
• Birch trees live from 50 to 70 years
• In one day, a large tree can lift 100 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air
• Communities with more trees tend to have a lower crime rate

---from Discover magazine:
One, green spaces encourage people to spend more time socially outdoors, which discourages crime. It’s especially helpful for crime control when young and old people mix together in public places. And two, the presence of plants has a therapeutic effect. Vegetation decreases mental fatigue and its associated symptoms, such as irritability and decreased impulse control, both considered to be precursors to violence.

• A tree provides homes for birds, squirrels, and insects; in the rain forests, they house many frog species

• Trees give us shade, which can keep a home's cooling costs down by as much as 30%

• Trees provide building materials
• How would we get by without apples??

• Oak trees must live about 20 years before they will produce acorns.

• An average American uses about 750 pounds of paper every year, and 95% of homes are built using wood. That means each person uses the equivalent of one 100 foot tall, 16 inch diameter, tree every year for their paper and wood product needs.

• India has the most different kinds of trees, followed by the United States.

• In observing willows and poplars, scientists found that these trees 'talk' to one another, in a sense: if there are several living close to one another and one is stressed due to an insect infestation, it will somehow alert the tree next to it, and both will produce chemicals to fight the infestation.

How can we save trees?

• Get an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook, or a reading app for your phone, computer, or Ipad.
• An e-reader can store up to 3500 books, newspapers, magazines, or blogs. Using your public library to borrow e-books will also save on the need for paper and save you money. Interestingly, if you download a book to your computer, it will take up very minimal space.

• Use every bit of every piece of paper.

                         This isn't exactly what we meant....but still...

• Set margins wider to avoid a 2-page letter.
• Share magazines with friends or donate them, rather than having multiple subscriptions.
• Route one copy to several people instead of giving everyone a copy, or email instead..
• Print double-sided whenever possible from your computer printer.
• Wrap gifts in newspaper or something other than paper, like leftover fabric.
• Use shredded paper in your compost pile.
• Use fabric diapers at least part of the time.

If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

American Forestry Association Tree Facts: Growing Greener Cities, 1992.


Give a shout-out to trees...and a hug wouldn't hurt!