Easter has shown us that life is renewed and our world is taking on those beautiful shades of green and the numerous early rising flowers are agreeing. Not sure if Martha Stewart would take claim to my late fall plantings, but they are showing great potential for a show of color and shapes. I am forgetting the frozen fingers of November.

Maybe, that is why April was picked as a stop and think time. April 22nd is the 2021 time for Earth Day. It is that one day a year we were to really, really think about what we are doing to our Mother Earth. That thought should lead us to be aware of things around us for the other 364 days or so each year.

Yes, our world has grown so much more complicated with the increase of knowledge, production of “things” and changes of life styles. This did not make the “not so good things” go away. Being humans and looking at human history we probably will always have divides in many areas of our lives. Our goal should be for each of us to do a small part, (larger if we can) to make this a better place to live and be kinder to Mother Earth. Common sense, clear thinking and lots of research in lots of directions will be a big step forward. So many of us take on a passion and drive forward in one direction only with our eyes only on the small picture ahead on our direct interests. Our thoughts may not be always what others think is the correct thing. My statement of saying electric cars are not the great answer to mankind problems may be read with “how dare she say that”! I am looking at it with the view of just what is needed to make the batteries to run these cars. Rare metals needed are not just laying around and often the end products can’t be reused at this time. How will there be enough electricity to charge all those cars? Just think of how long it seems to take to fuel a regular car now. What will the line be like at the electric charging stations? How good are these cars in cold weather? How will farming for our food needs be affected with no fossil fuels available for farm equipment in the future? I know this is a subject that will ruffle many feathers but it is something that needs to be looked at from many, many angles. Will wind and solar need to have a lot more innovations before they become a good replacement? Will we need something “magic” to come along to replace all of the above? Costs of options need to be considered. These statements should bring on more than a lifetime of talks.

There are many things that we have immediate control over that will help our surroundings on Planet Earth. We are super consumers so we should also be looking at being super re-users. A number of things are already in place like our local recycling programs and stores that take plastic. This is a great help in keeping the true trash down to next to nothing and putting recyclables to use. I do wish there was a way to reuse Styrofoam and I really would like to see a place where we could take clothing/ fiber things that are not resalable but still be used. I know some trash services offer this option, but a large number of us do not that opportunity. County Services, will you step up for us on that? Another good question to ask ourselves, do we REALLY NEED what we are purchasing or bringing into our homes. Can it be purchased with less packaging? Can we take our own containers in to buy direct like at a Coop? Can we do more things ourselves and/ or share skills or items?

Does it have to be manmade chemicals to do the job? There are so many ways to do things with more natural resources. Remember our good old Internet! One way to cut back on things like purchased dryer sheets is to use wool dryer balls that last for years and are said to dry 25 percent faster. Many common kitchen items like vinegar can be used in many ways for health and cleaning. Let me know what you are doing and I will share.