Day 53 of our Green Year: Picking Up Litter

This is a really easy one for all of us. No matter where you live, you will find litter. It is a horrible reality of our disposable society. Instead of choosing to carry our garbage an extra block, we dump it on the road. Instead of keeping the garbage in our car until we are at a place to dispose it, we toss it out the window.

More than anything, litter shows the mentality of many of our species, who see the world as one big dumping ground, and not the beautiful oasis suspended in a sunbeam that it is.
However, there are those out there that hold onto their garbage and throw it out or recycle it. Those who care that our roads are clean and that a hike in the woods does not show us garbage instead of nature.

In that vein of thought, Layla and I are committed to cleaning up trash when we are out. From the littlest wrapper we find on our walks, to cleaning up larger items when we are out and about. I encourage all of you do to the same. If we take the time to clean up after ourselves, the world can be a very nice place.

The Earth is not a dumping ground. It is a beautiful place that we should respect. If we don't, then one day all that will be left of our civilization will be the garbage we chose not to recycle or throw away.

Do you have your own tales of picking up litter? Do you have photos of you picking up litter? Or just photos of the litter in your area? Send it to us at crwbaird@gmail.com and we will put it up here to show what others are doing to keep the world clean.

Day 40 of our Green Year: Greeny Kitty Litter

As we go forward in Our Green Year, we will do several blogs on how to green things up when you have pets. Layla and I have several pets, two dogs, two cats and a bird. Plus we are taking care of another dog during the month of June.
One of the worst things for the environment, is something every cat owner has and it is kitty litter.
Most people do not think about the kitty litter when they throw it away, but while many people use the clumping kind to easily get rid of waste, it has a big impact on the environment.
First, when it gets wet, it solidifies, and this turns it into large gooey messes that do not bio-degrade and slowly seep into the ground. In total, two million tons of cat litter is thrown in the land fill, each year in the United States. That is a lot of gooey messes seeping into the ground.

As well, the clay and silica types of litter, which are the most common kinds, are made through heavily destructive methods of strip-mining that get clay and silica, but destroy the environment around the mines.

Therefore, Layla and I will only be buying natural cat litter, which can come from a variety of natural materials. Two of the most common types of natural cat litters are made from corn and sawdust, and are wonderful for your cats and even better for the environment. Layla and I are now proud to have 100 percent environmentally friendly cat litter, that will not harm the environment when it is taken out of the ground, or put back into it.

Remember, send us your photos of you and your family doing green things like we have in our blog, and we will put them up!