There are two days in April that celebrate the environment – today is Earth Day – the other is April 30 Arbor Day. There are many people who ignore these days and there are others who merely give lip service to the environment. But are they personally committed? Do they support the message of environmental sustainability aka “going green” because it’s popular and perhaps there is some personal gain or recognition that comes from following the trend? I don’t know but I’ve always strived to be an individual whose actions spoke louder than my words. I never wanted to be accused of not having my actions match my words. Over the last 12 months I’ve made a commitment to making certain I walk my talk.
Earth Day encourages us to become more “green” in our thinking, with emphasis on the three R’s of reusing, recycling and reducing many “waste” materials. Another R is “rethinking” how we do things in our daily lives. I’ve put the three …no, check that the four R’s into action in my daily life.
Recycling - A practice that I’ve made into a daily routine in my household. I’ve obtained recycle storage containers from my curbside garbage hauler so I can recycle newspapers, magazines, paper, catalogs, cardboard, plastic containers and metal cans daily. If your curbside garbage service does not recycle (1) contact them and urge them to get a recycle program, and (2) get your own containers to store recyclables to drop-off at a local recycler. Some communities have large drop-off containers located at schools, shopping centers, or even parks to handle your recyclable materials.
Roadside litter pickup – Last year, I began volunteering with a local civic group to help keep a portion of the main road that intersects with my street free of litter. The time commitment is three mornings a year during the spring, summer and fall. We work with the township and collect discarded bottles, paper and other forms of trash. Ironically, our group will be cleaning the roadside when a car will pass by and toss out a plastic bottle or fast food bag along the road.
I give a big thank-you to those volunteers who walk the highways and collect the trash. It is not a glamorous job, but an important one for highway cleanup. The same gratitude goes to student and adult volunteers who collect litter from my local Metro and State parks and stream banks. Without this help, many areas would be covered with litter.
As athletes, it is incumbent upon us to be responsible for our trash that we may generate during our training runs and rides and races. There is never a reason ever to throw an empty gel pack alongside the road. Put the empty packet in your cycle jersey or shorts. For USA Triathlon events, time penalties are issued for littering during a race.
Reuse – As an active training runner, I pay very close attention to the miles I have on my running shoes – I look at the soles and tread to make certain they are still providing proper support for my feet during running. When my running shoes need replaced and instead of throwing them out, they move to every day wear and then eventually migrate to shoes for yard work. However, as you would guess I end up with more old running shoes that I could possibly ever wear. At that time, I take them to my local run specialty store or charitable organization to be shipped back to the manufacturer or a recycler for an alternative use or given to individuals in need of shoes.
Today is Earth Day. If you do something today to honor this day, think about doing it everyday and making it part of your daily life.
Remember there is no Planet B. Happy Earth Day!
