Picnic for the Planet

Earth Day is approaching. I've never really gotten involved before. In the 6th grade my classmates and I got to go outside and plant a tree on the school property to commemorate Earth Day. I was most excited about getting out of class that day. I think they've since bulldozed that tree to extend the school building, but it planted within me a seed of hope. I ended up feeling good to be a part of something positive.

I understood Earth Day to be a day when Hippies and Wiccans get together for camping trips and incense burning. Not exactly my idea of a fun time. But I support their right to do so. Then Al Gore invented the internet and released his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and I started to pay attention. I'll be honest, I paid attention because I felt bad he lost (is that the right word?) the Presidential election and wanted to let him know I still supported him. But after watching the film, I realized that there is a real problem with our Earth. How did I miss it?

Eldridge Cleaver so eloquently said, "You're either part of the problem or part of the solution." My lack of awareness and misunderstanding had been a part of the problem and it was time to crack my denial open and pay attention to caring for this planet I called home.

I've since started recycling, drinking tap water and turning off my shower early. I pay attention to products and use only what I need. I started shopping at Farmer's Markets and buying locally (again, not just for hippies). And I stopped feeling bad that I take public transportation in New York instead of paying for a private car. I also wear my husband's clothing on weekends which cuts down on my clothing expenses... I'd like to think it saves the Earth because I'm not using as much fuel and other rescources it takes to manufacture the clothing and ship it.

Back to that tree I planted in the 6th grade... There are tons of programs that have sprung up since then that make it really easy to give back to the earth. Here's a great organization that makes it super simple to contribute.

http://plantabillion.org/

And there's more you can do this year. My friend and business mentor, Fred Siegel, just informed me yesterday that there's going to be a planet wide picnic happening on and around April 22!

http://earthday.nature.org/ 

We all have the opportunity to take our Earth out on a hot date! It can be an intimate affair with just you and the Earth or you can get a bunch of friends together and have a group date. If you're feeling adventurous you can meet new people and join in the fun with a group of like-minded strangers. Who knows, you may even befriend a hippie or two.

Here's some photos to inspire you:

College friends picnic

Kiddie Picnic

Barbie Picnic

Lots of people picnic

Just you and a friend picnic

Here's the website to go to to join in the fun: http://earthday.nature.org/ 


I'll be talking about this on Facebook and twitter the next few weeks. Would love to see everyone have a good picnic that day! What will you bring?