Loading...

Earth Day Round-Up (the Non-Toxic Kind)

earth day flagEven after doing this for years, I still get a little flustered with the requisite Earth Day post. No, it’s not a matter of saying “Screw Earth Day” (though I get that…); rather, it’s a recognition that there’s so much content out there that I’m unsure what I can add.Β  So, rather than taking a feeble stab at something, I’ll make my contribution by sharing some of the good stuff I’ve seen around the web and blogosphere today.

No doubt I’ve missed a ton of good content — what have seen today that you liked?

Image credit: BL1961 at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

5 comments
  1. Bobby B.

    I think that it should be renamed “Happy Symbolism Over Substance Day.”

    Yesterday, one of my kids was forced to sit in a dark classroom for an hour at school to “celebrate” earth day. When another classmate asked if they could be excused from doing any work to reduce paper use and save some trees, the teacher said that they couldn’t celebrate it that much. I think the teacher passed up a golden opportunity for a real kumbaya moment by refusing his request. Surely taking earth day to the indoctrination extreme would have had more value than teaching the appointed subject.

    Disney, Nickelodeon, and the other child targeting channels polluted the airwaves with the ubiquitous, preaching-green-down-their-noses-to-the-great-unwashed programming. The major networks did much of the same. If they really believe the green mantra, why don’t these channels “go dark” on earth day? Come to think of it, why didn’t they go dark for the recent earth hour? I guess making green is still a bit more important than adhering to their better-than-the-rest-of-us green values.

    Major League Baseball even got into the act by having some teams sport green caps instead of their normal colors. Of course, no one is supposed to question the merits of wastefully expending raw materials and energy to make single use clothing. After all, it is the thought that counts, right?

    To top things off, I had some out-of-town business and was unable to fire up the grill for my annual earth day barbecue. Sure I got to burn about 20 gallons of gasoline and enjoy some mercury-laden seafood at a nice chain restaurant, but it just wasn’t as satisfying. Oh wait, since it’s the thought that counts and some are starting to call it earth week, I can apply the five second (or in this case day) rule and grill on the weekend. Maybe that will lift my spirits.

    Happy earth day!

  2. Bobby B.

    In applying the five “day” rule, I was able to fish on Friday and grill on Saturday. My spirits are once again soaring. Happy non-earth day…week…whatever!

  3. Jeff McIntire-Strasburg

    Glad you had a good time, Bobby! On symbolism over substance… why? And, couldn’t you ultimately make that argument about any day of celebration?

    Fishing isn’t necessarily anti-environment, so don’t feel too good about that one… unless you caught over your limit. In fact, a lot of fisherman/hunters are becoming quite concerned about environmental issues because of toxins in the fish they catch, development of wild areas in which they hunt/fish, etc. Examples: the Isaac Walton League, Ducks Unlimited

  4. Bobby B.

    Try telling any of that to PETA.

    For the record, I said that I was able “to fish” on Friday. I did not say that I caught anything worth mentioning; much less eating. What little I did catch was released back into the wild.

    Also, based upon the hype, I would assume that most anglers are being programmed to worry about consuming mercury. Removing the skin and subdermal fat from fish should remove most of this risk. Also, since mercury vaporizes at 357 deg F, deep frying or broiling should release the remainder into the air where it can be removed by a simple kitchen vent (or by the prevailing winds if cooking outdoors). If the entire world can ignore the inherent risks associated with mercury-laden CFL’s so much so that their use is being mandated by legislation, I think that it’s probably okay to eat some fish now and then.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *