Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, here are a few tips from the Baileys of things we're trying to do and focus on as a family to make our world a better place for Jarem and also for ourselves. We have been moved by the green movement and feel as though if enough people get interested, there are so many small changes each of us can make that will make such a big difference. Jarem deserves to have clean air and a clean earth. He motivates us to be better people. Read on for a few easy tips

Stop using plastic bags. Next to the Wal-Mart across the street from our house is an empty lot. The lot is completely littered with plastic bags. At the east end of the empty lot is a wash. If the bags were to go into the wash we would then have plastic in our water supply. We are planning on going down there and picking up all the trash. For anyone who has seen the movie American Beauty, you might remember the scene where the plastic shopping bag is flying through the air. Well I have seen bags flying in the air in real life and it's interesting to think about where those bags will end up.

We have bought Costco bags that are large, convenient and reusable. The thing is that you have to remember to bring them into the store with you. We regularly find ourselves running out to the car from the checkout line so that we can get our bags. Also, when we only buy a few things and can carry the items ourselves, we refuse a bag and ask to simply carry our items. We have gotten quite a bit of grief and confusion from the store clerks but as word spreads, they will soon understand that we're just trying to cut back on the amount of plastic we use. The same can be said about plastic cups. At parties we are trying to use paper plates and aluminum cans rather than buying disposable cups for everyone to use. It just makes more sense since aluminum is recyclable. Check out this video about plastic bags.

The Dangers Of Plastic Bags

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If you are interested in helping us clean up the lot next to our local Wal-Mart let us know. It's a big job but we are excited to do our part to help.

Buy a hybrid. We love our Prius! Granted, we drive almost 50 miles each way to work each day so we get lots of bang for our buck. But even if you don't have a long commute you can still benefit from a hybrid vehicle. For instance, on short trips, you can use almost all electric to get from point A to point B. Also, with gas prices all over the place, you will definitely save some money at the pump. We average 53 miles per gallon in our Prius. We drive the highways and we still get great gas mileage. No need to look good in your car. Most people that see you in your car are strangers anyways. The Prius may not be the prettiest or coolest car around but it sure is a great buy!

Don't speed! While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas. So when you go from corner to corner to save that extra $.03 per gallon, think of how much you could be saving if you simply observe the speed limits. It is funny to us when we get off the freeway and end up at the same light as the guy that sped past us 5 minutes before. Speeding really doesn't make that big of a difference in time. Plus, observing the speed limit is also safer. For all of us!

Plant a tree. Carbon emissions play an ever-increasing role in environmental issues such as global warming. Carbon neutral programs (also called “carbon offset”) attempt to “neutralize” the carbon emissions we create with our cars, airplanes, industry, and energy use through urban forestry and reforestation efforts. Individuals and industries can “offset” some of their carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees too.

Carbon Dioxide is a compound produced from the combustion of carbon-based fuels: the colorless, odorless, tasteless gas formed when carbon, a solid, is burned in the open air. Carbon dioxide has long been recognized as a major agent of global warming since it is known to block solar energy that would otherwise radiate back into space.

Once carbon is released into the atmosphere, one of the easiest ways to mitigate that gas is to plant trees to absorb it, since carbon is a gas that trees use to grow and reproduce during photosynthesis! Trees are so effective that an average tree is believed to absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its normal lifetime.

A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs per year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings. If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually. That is almost five percent of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year. 300 trees can counter balance the amount of air pollution one person produces in a lifetime.

So, what I ask you to do is plant trees! Plant LOTS of trees. Tree planting remains one of the cheapest, most effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

Disney Nature Earth. Go and watch Disneynature Earth. It is a new movie that just came out today. It is similar footage from Planet Earth which was aired on the Discovery Channel. We watched that series and were amazed at the footage they got. The movie premier was last night and we weren't able to go so we gave our tickets to some of my co-workers. They all loved it and said it was amazing to see on the big screen. Another bonus of seeing the movie, buy a ticket for opening week and Disney will plant a tree in your honor. Pretty cool, huh? Here is the movie trailer for those interested.

http://disney.go.com/disneynature/

Don't use Styrofoam. Styrofoam is a trademark of the Dow company, but the material itself is called polystyrene. Like so many other plastics, it's all around us - very commonly used in packing material as peanuts or expanded foam, in food trays and a wide variety of other products - even explosives such as napalm and hydrogen bombs!

The bad news is that polystyrene is manufactured from petroleum. It's highly flammable and a chemical called benzene, which is a known human carcinogen, is used in its production. Polystyrene foam takes an incredibly long time to break down in the environment and additionally, animals may ingest it which blocks their digestive tracts and ultimately causes starvation.

Nearly two dozen cities in the USA have banned the use of polystyrene since it is currently non-recyclable and non-biodegradable. Rosati's is a restaurant that uses Styrofoam plates for all of it's customers. I wrote them a letter a couple of months back about the effects Styrofoam has on our environment and how they should look into switching to paper plates as an alternative. Be aware of the amount of Styrofoam you use and try to cut back when possible.

I know this is a lot of information but it helps to be educated and informed. Having the information will hopefully motivate you to make some changes in your life. Every little bit helps and we appreciate you making those life changes for all of our home, beautiful planet Earth. Jarem thanks you, too.