The 2016 Great NEWS posts are dedicated to Holistic Habits to enhance our happiness, health and well being. Today’s post offers my list of the top twenty tips each of us can be and do to help celebrate Earth Day 2016. Too many people seem to act and feel as if there is not much they can do to make a difference when it comes to preventing and protecting against environmental damage and destruction of our earths eco-system. The goal for today’s post is to educate, empower and excite readers with simple suggestions we can take to provide beneficial and meaningful progress to support our shared home we call earth.

There is no such thing as burning, burying, dumping or polluting on our planet that will not be consequential to each of us and all the generations to come.

There is no such thing as burning, burying, dumping or polluting on our planet that will not be consequential to each of us and all the generations to come.

This post is written in honor of the founders of the first Earth Day event founded om April 22, 1970. Since that time it has grown into a major environmental protection phenomenon and world wide celebration event. Millions of people and purposes come together to help clean up, green up and protect our planet. Remember we live in a tiny bubble floating through inter galactic space and every thing that happens in the bubble affects each one of us to some degree or another. There is no such thing as burning, burying, dumping or polluting on our planet that will not be consequential to each of us and all the generations to come.

Top Twenty Tips for Earth Day 2016

These top twenty tips will allow every person on the planet to do something to contribute and provide terrific benefits to help protect our shared air, lands, living organisms, oceans, seas, soils and water.

  • Are you so busy being a consumer, gas guzzler and spender that you have forgotten how important and precious a clean ecology, eco-system and environment are to our overall emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health and quality of life?  When would now be a great time to begin thinking of every day as Earth Day and implement simple and smart solutions?
  • Avoid putting any toxic chemicals, cleaners or compounds into our air, land or waters. Pollution in the air, agriculture chemicals, herbicides and insecticides on the land, or chemicals and heavy metals in our waters is a proven formula for death, destruction and disease.  Even cleaning chemicals and medicines put in toilets contaminate our creeks, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans and water wells. Massive waste water is contaminating the drinking water for those down stream. Water is the most important element of life and most of the worlds waters are contaminated and polluted.
  • Avoid wasting valuable resources like aluminum, batteries, glass, metal, oil, paper, plastic, water and wood. We must begin to recycle everything and stop filling our dumps with valuable resources.
  • Be sure to reduce, recycle, reuse, repair, re-purpose and re-gift items that still have any possible remaining use.
  • Boycott Genetically Engineered (GE) foods and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).  These Frankenfoods are harmful to you and the environment we live in.
  • Buy local organic foods from your local farms and farmers market. Less shipping and transportation related costs and pollution means a cleaner and safer world.
  • Buying food in bulk containers and reusable containers is better for the economy and environment. Dealing with excessive waste is very destructive and expensive.
  • Conserve excessive, unnecessary and wasteful use of butane, electricity, kerosene, natural, oil, propane, resources, water and wood.  Solar cookers, dryers, heaters and power are the answer for a better future.
  • Convert an ordinary fireplace that wastes most of the heat up the chimney into a heat capturing and generating thermal rocket mass heater storage system.  Have you heard of a Rocket Stove Mass Heater system?  With a well designed system and a small amount of wood you can create a super efficient heating system for your home.
  • Do your part to help stop the needless destruction of deserts, ecosystems, islands, mangroves, mountains, old growth forests, rainforests, reefs, rivers, wetlands, wildlife and woodlands

    Do your part to help stop the needless destruction of deserts, ecosystems, islands, mangroves, mountains, old growth forests, rainforests, reefs, rivers, wetlands, wildlife and woodlands

    Do your part to help stop the needless destruction of deserts, ecosystems, islands, mangroves, mountains, old growth forests, rainforests, reefs, rivers, wetlands, wildlife and woodlands.  Be conscious of the buying decisions you make and products you use resulting in consequences to our environment.

  • Eat lower on the food chain whenever the choice presents itself. Choose delicious and nutritious nutrient dense organic whole foods like: berries, blue-green algae, cactus, fruits, grains, green plants, herbs, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, root vegetables, sea weeds, seeds, sprouts and vegetables. Even eating organic chicken or eggs requires far less food energy consumption that beef or pork.  It takes massive amounts of food calorie consumption to make a pound of beef estimated at over ten pounds to make one pound.  Plus it requires massive water resources as well.
  • Every thing you buy, do, eat, feel, hear, say, think and touch affects our world. Choose wisely because your life and loved ones depend on making good choices.  Remember the Native American nations philosophy of making wise decisions based on the impact to the next seven generations and beyond.

Think of Every Day as Earth Day

Find simple ways to conserve and protect the environment each day. Compounding is one of the most powerful forces in the universe and consistently doing small things each day will compound for massive results.

  • Giant agribusinesses and mega farms typically use a lot of harmful chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that contribute to air, food, land and water contamination and pollution.  The World Health Organization (WHO) released information saying that organic small farms outproduce the big mono crop mega farms on a per acre basis with less damage to the environment and energy wastage.  When will we reach the tipping point with people transitioning to organic farming and permaculture as better solutions to feed a hungry world?
  • Grow your food to reconnect to the earth and learn more about the symbiotic relationship we have with nature and plants. Grow Your Own Groceries is an excellent website to show you simple steps you can take now to be more eco friendly and self sufficient.
  • Growing hemp for fabric, fiber, food, hempcrete, housing, medicine and paper would greatly minimize current wasteful practices.  Hemp would reduce the number of trees cut down for paper and wood products.  Go to Vote Hemp to learn more about the amazing benefits of hemp that has been used for thousands of years.
  • Growing cotton is a very destructive process for land.   Bamboo is another great product for clothing, commercial products and construction.
  • Help stop the pollution of our air, land and waters.  Ride a bicycle or walk rather than driving a car when feasible.  Use mass transit when available.  Car pool rather than drive alone.  Car shares are very good ways to be more efficient.  Look into electric or hybrid cars to replace older gas guzzlers.
  • Help catch, conserve and contain rain and water.  Rainwater is a valuable resource that we can learn to retain for longer periods of time in plants and on the land before it makes its way to rivers and the oceans.  Rainwater catchment is an easy way to catch and hold rain for later use when there is less rain available. Permaculutre teaches simple ways to design and maintain our lands the way nature does to maximize the collection, conservation, preservation and storage of water for plant use.
  • Help your family and friends see the connection between protecting the planet and protecting our quality of life. The sooner we recruit others to understand how small our planet really is and how finite our resources are the sooner we can stop the damage and start the restoration.
  • Help reduce the needless burning of brush, grass, plants, trash and trees.  All organic material can be composted and converted into nutrients rather than be burned.
  • Massive amounts of food are wasted by farmers, grocers and growers because it does not look pretty and perfect to buyers.  More food is wasted by grocers and restaurants that is not served or sold to consumers.  Then even more food is wasted by people who are poor managers of their fresh food supplies.  We have the technology to reduce our waste as well as donate food to those that need it.  Many grocery stores and restaurants throw out food that could be fed to hungry people.
  • Organic matter from our homes and yards should be composted and used to build and fertilize our victory gardens. Garbage disposals in our sinks only encourage sending more organic material and water into our overloaded waste water treatment plants.
  • Plant an organic garden and food forest.  It can be on land you own or as simple as potted plants and vertical vines on a balcony or porch.
  • Plant organic community gardens on vacant land or lots after asking for permission from the city, landowner or town that owns it.
  • Plant flowers and flowering trees to feed bees, birds and butterflies.
  • Planting ten trees to replace every one that is cut down would help make the world a better place to live.
  • Put up a bat or bird house to attract these beneficial creatures to help control insects naturally.

Reduce Reuse Recycle Repair Repurpose

  • Reduce the amount of water wasted from bathtubs, broken pipes, leaky faucets and showers. Using a water saver shower head and taking short showers can save many gallons of water per day. Reuse the grey water that is wasted waiting for warm water to flow.

    Reduce the amount of water wasted from bathtubs, broken pipes, leaky faucets and showers. Using a water saver shower head and taking short showers can save many gallons of water per day. Reuse the grey water that is wasted waiting for warm water to flow.

    Reduce the amount of water wasted from bathtubs, broken pipes, leaky faucets and showers. Using a water saver shower head and taking short showers can save many gallons of water per day. Reuse the grey water that is wasted waiting for warm water to flow.

  • Reduce your carbon, energy, food, fossil fuel and water foot prints when ever possible.  A plant based diet is far more efficient than being a big beef consumer.  Commercial Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFO) are very harmful to the environment and pollute and waste massive amounts of land and water.
  • Replace regular batteries with rechargeable batteries. Many items today have the ability to hand crank or a solar recharger to recharge the batteries.
  • Replace old fashion gas or electric hot water heaters with on demand water heaters or better yet solar powered hot water heaters.
  • Replace disease prone, labor intensive and ornamental landscaping with drought resistant and hearty native species.  Where possible plant bushes, trees and vines that produce foods and fruits.
  • Riding a bicycle is great exercise and helps save on fossil fuels. They have even designed a rechargeable electric bicycle that can assist with peddling up hills.
  • Solar power is an efficient and low cost way to harness the energy of the sun. What are you doing to harness solar power?  When I grew up we let the sun dry our clothes rather than throw them into dryers with toxic fabric sheets that harm our health. Solar powered hot water heaters could greatly reduce our energy bills and help save on fossil fuels usage.
  • Swimming pools in private yards waste a lot of clean water and typically require a lot of chemicals to keep them clean.  The chemicals are bad for you and bad for the environment.  Beaches, community pools, lakes and rivers can be excellent alternatives and much more conservation minded.  Many people waste a lot of fuel and money heating their pool also.
  • Switch from Compact Florescence Lights (CFL), florescent lights and incandescent lights to LED lights to save significant electric energy.
  • Tiny homes are making a big impression with the idea of living on a smaller scale and being more eco friendly.  Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB), Earth bag house, Earthships, Ram Earth home, Sod house and Subterranean homes are becoming more common and creative options.
  • Turn off air conditioners, appliances, computers, equipment, lights, motors, and vehicles when not needed. Most people do not realize how all this phantom and wasted energy adds up.
  • Updating and upgrading attics, insulation and windows with new energy efficient systems can pay for themselves in a few years and save a fortune over time.  Many apartments, condos and homes are ready for an energy makeover to capitalize on recent materials and technology advances.
  • Use eco friendly construction, green building, passive home design and sustainable living guidelines to create extremely efficient homes.  Focus on ways to construct a building, dwelling, home or structure that is designed to last at least 100+ years and be super energy efficient.
  • Using plastic water bottles is one of the most destructive and wasteful habits many have developed.  Plastic is bad for you, your family and the planet. Water in a plastic bottle sells for as much or more than gasoline in most countries. Chemicals in plastic harm your health and that of your children.
  • Vehicles burn a lot of fuel so it is essential to drive with a light foot on the gas pedal and brake.  Optimal acceleration and braking can impact your fuel efficiency by up to 33%.  Maintaining your engine and vehicle for optimal performance is also important. Maybe it is time to replace that eight cylinder gas guzzler with a four or six cylinder super efficient model.
  • When did we decide that watering a yard to keep the grass green and growing was more valuable than clean drinking water?  Watering yards and sprinkler systems consume and waste a lot of clean drinking water.
  • Wind power is a valuable and viable technology that has tremendous potential for generating power and saving on fossil fuels.

What other ideas can you come up with to help celebrate Earth Day and be even more eco friendly and conscious about our ecology and environment?

Healthy Habits

The Healthy Habits 2016 series is dedicated to sharing simple suggestions to help us protect the earth and environment to insure better health and well being for each of us.  Earth Day is the perfect day to reflect on our precious planet and specific steps we can take to be better guardians and stewards. Treating every day like earth day will help accelerate the renewal  and restoration of our mother earth and precious planet.

What is your current Gap?

What behaviors, choices and habits are unhealthy for you and the environment? Where are you being most detrimental to the global health and well being? What choices and decisions do you know you must make now to protect yourself and the planet from further damage and danger?

Mastery Action Plan (MAP)

There is a wealth of wisdom on the internet about what we can each do to prevent and protect against environmental destruction. We must each do our part to invest the energy, money and time to implement simple strategies to better protect our planet. When would now be a great time to make a list of ten things you can do each week to benefit your health and world at the same time?

Call to Action

What comments, commitments or concerns come to mind regarding Earth Day and the many ways we can protect our planet? Are you ready to be a guardian and steward to protect the planet?

Next week the Great NEWS blog will share:

Water with Weeds Will Work Wonders

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