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Happy (Belated) Earth Day! It seems that in the last few weeks I have been bombarded with magazine articles, emails, and conversation on green movements, sustainability and environmental responsibility. I don’t know if this once-only-for-granola-types-and-tree-huggers is emerging as mainstream, or if I just notice it more. But, at any rate I have decided that I need to do something, to play my part in preserving our planet. A friend of mine, Brian, recently posted on his blog about his newest resolve to do his part in cleaning up the earth. And after doing a little research, I have decided to join him. This may sound totally small and insignificant – but since I don’t have the means to run out and purchase a brand new Prius, and change everything about my current lifestyle to be more environmentally friendly; I am trying to overhaul my green-ness one step at a time, so hear me out.

I will no longer use plastic bags at the grocery store.

I have decided to purchase a canvas or cotton bag that I can fold up and take with me when I shop. I realize this means I can’t spend a hundred dollars at the grocery store once every 3 weeks and hope the food lasts- which I am fine with. I actually really like grocery shopping, it is kind of like therapy. (So maybe I should increase my trips to the grocery store and decrease my trips to the shrink? Sounds like a good trade, no?) I found this bag (right) by Anya Hindmarch and absolutely love it; unfortunately they are completely sold out and will only be available in stores in London. Sigh… I’ll have to find something else I suppose.

If you have not watched An Inconvenient Truth yet, I highly recommend the experience. It is not a glamourous movie, and it isn’t filled with beautiful actors falling in love, but it was one of the most moving films I’ve seen in recent memory. If the idea of watching a movie that is full of statistics and power-point presentations is entirely horrific – visit climatecrisis.net to learn about what is going on. And, if nothing else, maybe try and find one thing that you can do to decrease your environmental footprint on the earth. Carpool to work, start recycling, decrease the amount of plastic bags accumulating underneath your kitchen sink. Pick one thing that you can work on, and Do It! It’s not difficult, and it’s not “un-cool.” If the environmental dooms-day preachers actually are correct in their prognosis, you will have the satisfaction of doing your part to help the planet. And if they are NOT correct – what have you really lost? Just a cache of flimsy plastic bags.