Earth Day 2010

Earth Day, it’s not some hippie, tree hugging event. There’s nothing radical about wanting clean air and water or a desire to protect the environment.


Take a look inside your grocery cart or kitchen this Thursday and see what you can do to become more eco friendly.

1. Buy local. Consider that the average meal travels 1500 miles to make it from field-to-plate, that’s a lot of carbon you can eliminate by buying locally. Look for the “Grown in Michigan” sign in your grocery store, join a coop http://www.coopdirectory.org/directory.htm, or buy from the local produce stands and farmer’s markets over the next several months.

2. Plant a vegetable and herb farm in your yard or join a community garden. Tomatoes, peas, beans, onions, sweet corn, and green leafy vegetables have a pretty good success rate in Michigan. This is a great project for kids. Get starter seed packets at the grocery store, a good patch of soil from outside and reuse a cardboard egg carton as your starter pots.

3. Waste less. Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost. Plan out your weekly grocery list so you aren’t burning gas on additional midweek trips. A meal plan will also help you stick to a budget and eliminates the end of week toss on foods that have gone bad. Look in your grocery cart, what can you do to reduce excessive packaging by manufacturers. Don’t buy products that come in single service containers, this includes everything from water and sports products to after school snacks and deodorant. Make it a practice to carry your own coffee cup, water bottle and grocery bags to stores.

4. Last but not least, run, walk or cycle wherever possible.