Wander Girl

Don’t be too hard on me, not a whole lot rhymes with Earth, but I was sitting here at work (shh don’t tell) thinking about how when I was a kid growing up in the 90s it felt like Earth Day was a big deal. Of course, it may have just been the magic of being a kid, but there were television episodes of our favorite shows about Reducing, Resuing and Recycling and during art class we would make our projects out of recycled materials. It was talked about for what seemed like a full week leading up to it and we were all encouraged to do something to take care of Mother Earth.

Maybe this is just my jaded adult brain talking, or, ya know, simply the fact that I’m not in school anymore and don’t hear about it, but it doesn’t seem to be a “big deal” anymore.

This could perhaps be because we are all doing an AWESOME job at being more sustainable consumers, but I sincerely doubt that is the case.

I believe instead, earth day is every day! Kids are taught straight out of the womb to recycle, to be a more considerate consumer of our resources, we are driving electric cars, or homes are being powered by the sun and wind, and you can easily find recycle centers in neighborhoods across the country.

Last year I saw a kid that was picking up, a certain area, or number of areas of trash every day for a year and it kind of struck me. Even if we are all doing our part, there is still so much more we can do.

Sustainability Today

Drinking out of re-useable water bottles and taking your own bags to the grocery store are just a few of the things that are easy to do and can make a difference.

You could also choose clothing and footwear brands that use sustainable materials, donate old clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation army, or use them as rags.

And for you 80s and 90s kids who know what I mean, check out this link I found to refresh your memory on some of the TV shows that had special episodes to help us remember to keep our Earth clean.

Happy Earth Day: What ‘90s TV Taught Us About Keeping the Planet Clean