earth day... little steps to preservation...

i remember there was a time long long ago *during primary school* when i was in this "nature" phase. was into everything from the school's nature lovers' club to wwf. after realizing certain phobias of mine, i began shying away from those outdoorsy nature stuff. haha. to those who are passionate about it (nature), i salute you.

the fact that climate change is becoming increasingly apparent, the global population seems to be more aware of the global warming phenomenon which has been going on for quite some time in fact. the seasons are changing. the weather is not what it was. sea levels are rising. temperatures are outrageously high. i remember when i was a kid, the normal temperature during the day was around 27 degrees celcius and 20 degrees and below at night. these days however, while we still do get cooler nights as we have before, our days are a whole lot hotter. average day temperature is above 30 degrees celcius. the weather is no longer predictable. we used to forecast rainy and dry seasons just by putting the timeline up against the monsoon seasons. nowadays the line separating the two seems almost non-existent.

in conjunction with earth day, a lot of programs are carried out around the world to better educate the public on being green. people are going organic, recycling, saving energy, planting trees, protesting chopping down of trees in cities and stressing on the importance of forest preservation. some ideas on catching the "green" bug:

• use energy saving bulbs -- they're friendly on your wallet and the environment
• avoid printing emails unless necessary -- saving paper means saving trees
• eat organic -- organic means less pesticide and toxins were used, a healthier choice for you and the planet
• recycle -- if there are recycling bins or centres nearby, use them. some recycling centres even do house calls to pick up your recyclables. you may not earn much from recycling but it helps reduce the amount of trash dumped in landfills and dump centres
• recreate new uses for old items -- get creative and create new stuff out of old items that you have at home. the possibilities are endless
• composting -- this may not be for everyone but if you're curious, you can try googling it *wink*
• use earth friendly aerosols -- check the can to see if the aerosol is cfc-free. cfc is one of the components breaking down the ozone layer
• use less plastic & paper bags -- opt for a reusable shopping bag instead. most plastic bags are non-biodegradable and will take up to 1000 years to decompose
• go biodegradable -- biodegradable products are earth-friendly. kudos to jusco for using biodegradable plastic bags *if you've notice, their plastic bags will crush and fray by itself if kept stored too long*
• don't pollute -- this may be a bit hackneyed but important, whenever you can, make a conscious decision to avoid adding more pollutants to the environment. make sure vehicle engines are in good condition *not emitting black or white smoke*, throw rubbish in the designated bins and refrain from any open burning

those were just some ideas off the top of my head. honestly, i'll admit i'm not much into the earth-saving mode these days but i'll do my part whenever i can. saving the earth isn't about making those drastic changes like making your home a 'green home' with fancy earth-friendly contraptions. a little change can go a long way. so it's ok to start small.

if you're into saving forests and endangered species, get a wwf passport and look at ways you can help wwf's efforts to preserve our flora and fauna. help them in their campaigns from your own computer and make a difference across the globe.

happy earth day everyone!!