As Earth Day approaches, celebrate, help improve our fragile planet

At Monterey Aquarium, beautiful works of art are created from plastic and other junk
pulled from our oceans. Eight million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans each
 year, a staggering amount. It poisons or strangles creatures who mistake it for food.  

WE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE CAUSED MAJOR PROBLEMS  ON THE PLANET BUT WE CAN DO MUCH TO RECTIFY OUR MISTAKES 

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

EARTH DAY GIVES US TIME TO THANK AND HELP OUR FRAGILE PLANET

The bluff above Torrey Pines State Beach offers a splendid
 view of the Pacific Ocean. When we hike it, we often
find plastic and it goes in an old cloth bag we carry.  

WE SPEND many happy hours each year in nature -- on our oceans, rivers, lakes and streams.  Like many of our readers, we visit national and state parks, estuaries, wildlife habitats and other places where we know we'll find birds, plants, animals.  We hold our planet and its creatures in sacred space.

But while we love Mother Earth, we are imperfect creatures and have unwittingly done our part to jeopardize the planet. So when Earth Day rolls around each year, we do our bit to help preserve the planet we so cherish.

An artful turning of plastic rescued from the
ocean, by a contributing artist at
Monterey Bay Aquarium.

CELEBRATED annually since 1970 on April 22nd, Earth Day holds immense importance as a global platform.  Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson was a staunch environmentalist, deeply concerned about the planet's declining health.  He believed the solution could be found in individuals and grassroots movements.  He urged teachers and parents to expose young impressionable minds to an aquarium or nature driven place, encouraging them to respect our fragile planet and our fellow inhabitants.  This launches them into little environmentalists.  By teaching them to pick up plastic and cans, consider personal habits and be good stewards of the land, we're fostering respect and activism in future generations.

Thousands of us plant trees, feed birds, plant gardens that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  Many of us pick up trash and study pressing environmental issues like climate change, pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. As individuals, communities and governments, we can take action to protect our planet and ensure its sustainability for future generations. I believe this in my heart. 

I KNEW A lot of plastic goes into our oceans, but I had no idea that 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the seas each year. Keller figures that’s the equivalent of dumping one 

Fort Lauderdale's Riverwalk
 in a light rain. Celebrate Earth
Day by planting a tree, taking a
walk, visiting a nature driven place
 -- a park, beach, river, preserve.

garbage truck full of plastic into the ocean every minute. More than 171 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the world's oceans, according to scientists' estimates. Plastic kills fish and sea animals and takes hundreds of years to break down.

UNFORTUNATELY, we people are the sole cause of the plastic debris destroying our oceans. The good news is, we have the power to solve the mess we created.  Here are a few things we do in our life and home to help to help the Earth.  It may sound corny, but if everyone does his or her bit, together we can make a huge difference.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora
Borealis, is a magical display of ribbons of light.
  

* We are ridding our home of single-use plastics.

* We ride our bikes daily and on errands whenever possible. We're considering a hybrid or electric car.
* We support our local environmental watchdog grassroots resource council.

* We try to recycle and compost properly.

* We patronize farmer's markets and other places that avoid plastic packaging and always take our own cloth bags whenever we go to a store.

Big Sky Country, near our Montana place in Stillwater
County.  Pristine places like this dot the landscape all across
the United States. We feel a responsibility to keep it beautiful. 

* We take an old fabric bag with us in the car and on our bikes to pick up cans, bottles and other litter.

* When we order a take-out meal, we make sure there are no plastic utensils, wrapping or plates. We look for places that use recycled materials when shopping or dining out.

* We've planted 97 trees on our Montana place and each year we scatter native wildflower seeds to promote clean air and the survival of indigenous wildlife. Feels good to plant things.

* We make presents of gift certificates to greenhouses and garden centers. Great way to thank someone who has done us a favor.

* We are members of a variety of nature oriented foundations including Sierra Club, Arbor Day, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, and many other agencies and non-profits that save and protect birds, trees, animals and the ocean. 

We love seeing families enjoying wildlife, here
at Hilton Waikoloa Resort where it is possible
to swim with the dolphins and learn about them.

* We're taking shorter showers, using the dishwasher only twice a week, turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth.

No more plastic in our lives
Other ideas we're already doing or hope to implement: 

* Shopping at thrift shops and second-hand stores for toys and gifts for kids or when we need to replace an appliance. New stuff has lots of plastic packaging. 

Gentoo penguins frolic near Ushuaia. Visit a
national park or just take a hike in the woods, or
the nearest bird sanctuary or nature preserve. 

* Hosting a clothing swap or clothing repair party to encourage our friends (and ourselves) to recycle, mend or salvage old garments rather than buying new ones. We are donating a box a week of good, useable clothes. Women's shelters and many other places welcome good used items.  I'm a packrat and like most of us, I have too much stuff. So I'm going through closets, try to winnow, share and make use of what is still useable.
* Volunteer to pick up litter in a neighborhood or local park. Get a child interested. Take him on a whale watch or to a place where nature is revered. Exposure in youth creates lifelong environmentalists.

* Get neighborhood kids to run a recycling drive for glass and plastic containers.

Have a happy Earth Day! Do something to improve our imperiled planet.

More info: earthday.org
 hawaiimagazine.com/see-how-kauai-artists-turned-marine-debris-into-art

Special effects wizard Andy Schoneberg shakes hands with 
his creation of famed actor Humphrey Bogart. Also an
actor, he played the part of Bogart in "Play It Again, Sam."
 

UPCOMING FUN: Variety is our spice.  We're talking with a Wyoming born Hollywood special effects artist and his make-up and wig artist partner. Find out how a kid from Casper made it in Hollywood.  Then we're off to explore northern U.K with a train trip to Britain. And we celebrate our love of nature with visits to New York's Central Park and the city's fabulous High Line Park, created on a derelict rail site. All that and more, always with a look for the fresh and new. Remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fun look at performance, art, nature, family and more. Please share the links:

www.whereiscookie.com