Happy Earth Day!

Many of you don’t know that I’m a green freak….what better time to come out of the closet than on Earth Day? =) My family refers to me as the “eccentric” one. I have always cared about environmental, political, and social justice issues. I rarely forward an email, but if I do, it’s not going to be a chain letter that ensures good luck if you pass it on….it’s going to be about taking action by calling senators or writing letters in favor or in protest of an issue. I have a feeling my emails get deleted frequently…!

I never thought I would meet someone who understood me. ….until Chad *swoon*…. Any time we take long drives together, we end up talking about how we can make a more positive impact on the environment and the world in general. A few of the little things we do to make a difference:

1) Recycle absolutely everything possible. Chad gets on to me occasionally because I’ll throw something in the recycling bin that isn’t recyclable. Hey, it’s the thought that counts! ;)

2) Bring a travel mug to Starbucks instead of using the paper cups they provide. Starbucks goes through 1.5- 2 billion paper cups per year. Their cups are NOT recyclable because they have an inner plastic lining. Imagine what a positive impact we could have on the environment if everyone simply brought their own cups!

3) Use energy efficient light bulbs throughout the house. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an energy efficient bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year,more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars (energystar.gov).

4) Instead of using plastic grocery bags, bring your own cloth bags. My sister sent me a link to the Baggu site today. Each Baggu will hold the contents of 2-3 plastic bags. They come in a ton of bright, fun colors and they’re affordable! I just ordered a 3 pack for $22. I got navy, sky, and lime. If a canvas tote or a baggu doesn’t appeal to you, you can still make a difference by dropping your plastic bags off in the recycling bins that are located near the doorways of most grocery stores.

5) Don’t buy bottled water. I admit this one is very hard for me! I always carry a bottle of water with me to weddings because I’m usually on my feet all day weighed down with camera equipment. It gets hot very quickly! I used to buy a case of bottled water every other trip to the grocery store. I now wash out the same bottle and reuse it or carry a sports bottle. The bottled water industry is a huge strain on the environment. Although we have access to clean tap water, we are still the #1 consumer of bottled water in the world.

6) Try to cut down use of paper towels and paper plates. I sometimes find myself reaching for a paper towel after washing my hands at the kitchen sink. This is a hard habit to break! We keep hand towels on both sides of the kitchen sink so it’s just as convenient to use a towel. Eventually, I would like to stop using paper towels entirely.

7) Walk or bike more often. Instead of taking the car everywhere, take a walk or a bike ride. This is easier said than done for most. We live behind Birkdale Village so we are only a 10 minute walk away from restaurants and shops.

When it comes to the photography business, there are a few ways that I can make a difference.

–Use only recyclable packaging. It may not be the most flashy or fashionable thing to do, but I do wrap all of my albums in recycled/able paper.
–Do not offer paper proofs. All proofs are viewed online or in the studio.
–I just moved to rechargeable batteries for my flashes. I used to buy batteries by the truckload! Each wedding requires about 16 AA batteries.
–Offer only animal-friendly products. According to the EPA, cattle produce 80 million metric tons of methane annually. They also emit other greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Another little-known fact about me: I’m a vegetarian. In my opinion, being a vegetarian and an environmentalist go hand in hand, but I have been told t/ that is debatable. =)

Please feel free to add to my list in the comments section. I would love to hear how you are going green!

Posted by: kate | 04-22-2008 | 06:04 PM
Posted in: uncategorized