Ideas For Earth Week or Year

Earth Week (didn't it used to be just a day? and shouldn't it be every day?) is upon us. Our precious planet is once again in the limelight as citizens work to bring environmental consciousness forward.

What am I going to do to "celebrate?" Sadly, I have to fly and burn fossil fuels to attend the GMIC Conference, so my first act is to offset those greenhouse gas omissions by purchasing carbon offsets.

I am hoping this event brings about real change in our industry and I feel travel there is important so I will be using my time, energy and expertise very wisely during the conference. My goal is to share information with those of you unable to attend face to face or virtually (which is an option the rest of the MeetGreen staff will be using) and I will post from the Sustainable Meetings Conference.

Meanwhile, I am taking the opportunity afforded by Earth Week to rethink how both my personal and professional lives impact the Earth. If you would like to join me, here are some ideas to adopt similar to New Years Resolutions for Earth Year:

• Purchase only recycled paper products for your kitchen and bathroom. You don't need virgin paper for any of these "cleaning issues" and recycled products for home and office are readily available.
• Use natural cleaning products whenever possible. I have been experimenting with the cleaning properties of vinegar recently and the impact on kitchen stains and bacteria is truly amazing.
• Eat one vegetarian meal per day, every day.
• Walk to your errands or consolidate the trips into one. Both my home and office have nearly all of my usual stops within walking distance, so I don't have an excuse besides being lazy.
• Plant a garden even if it is in a container on your patio. It has an added benefit of helping you understand your food. This may sound kind of crazy, but last week I gave a friend some onions sets to plant in his garden so he would have big, beautiful onions this summer. This sustainable friend said, "Hey, these look like onions." "Yes," I replied, "that is because they are onions, which are bulbs, which is what we cut up and eat when they reach full size." He seemed amazed.

Now it's your turn to come up with your own Earth Year resolutions! Imagine the incredible impact, if we all did just one thing to change our world.