I say in honor of the planet which we have been given the privilege to live on, I suggest for Earth Day everyone should do at least one thing to either help animals or the earth. I think for Earth Day I’m going to officially become a vegetarian - I don’t how many times I’ve said I’m going to stop eating meat but never follow through with it. It’s hard to stop eating meat, but tomorrow I’m officially going to. LONG LIVE THE ANIMALS! Are any of you guys doing anything for Earth day? If so, what?
The thing about vegetarianism is
that people make it an all or nothing
thing. Another option is to minimize
meat eating. Go for days without it.
Then if you eat meat, do it without
guilt and go back to avoiding it.
It’s really hard not to eat meat at
all in the USA. So if it’s all or nothing,
as most people won’t do nothing, they
forget about vegetarianism entirely.
But it’s possible to eat a whole lot
less of it than most people do. That’s
a really good option, I think,
both health wise and because one
does less harm. Also it’s harder
to be self righteous. When I lived
in Asia I didn’t eat meat for months
on end–there was wonderful vegetarian
food everywhere. When I came back
to the USA, well, it was very hard.
Sometimes the only alternative to
meat was something still less
healthy.
Another thing is to try to avoid
animals that suffer terribly:
I’ve seen lots of pigs slaughtered
and they know exactly what’s
in store well in advance.
They appear to feel about
being slaughtered pretty much
the way you and I would. I don’t
know why pigs are so smart, but
they appear to be at least as
clever as smart dogs. Beef is
really bad for you. Unfortunatley
the factory farming of chickens
is very bad news. Fish caught in
the open sea escape factory farming,
anyway.
I guess this message is my
Earth Day gesture. Best
P. S. Of course I wouldn’t
discourage anybody from being
a real vegetarian. The
above advice is meant for
weak-willed backsliders like
me.
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-04-20 21:40 ]
don’t toss old whistles, sell them on the list;
start a compost heap;
if you don’t have curbside recycling, find out where the nearest recycling center;
don’t flush every time you use the toilet and/or put a 1 or 2 liter old soda bottle full of water in your tank;
get reusable grocery bags;
keep and reuse some of those “disposable” food containers (like takeout soup containers, Gladware, etc.);
turn out lights in unused rooms (and don’t turn on your outdoor lights unless you’re expecting someone – this is light pollution, too);
turn your heat down a few degrees in winter and don’t use your AC unless you’re REALLY uncomfortable in the summer.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. (I’ll let someone else talk about conserving gasoline, I get too cheesed off about that.) I do all of these everyday (when applicable); it’s really not that difficult to get in the habit; you do have to think about it a lot at the beginning, but if a few million more people did all these things, it would make a huge difference.
I am going to admire my dandylions in the yard. I know it drives the neighbors crazy!
I refuse to poison my yard! I refuse to poison the resident birds and benificial insects.
So we have dandylions.
BTW… dandylion greens are great treats for our pet guinea pigs.
I will also respect the medicinal qualities of the plantain growing in my yard.
If weather permits. I will pull the weeds out from the herb garden and compost them.
Think twice before chemical sprays and insecticides… there’s my Earth day sermon.
Hey guys!
jim stone,
thanks for the advice on vegetarianism. I’ll probably more than likely become a partial-vegetarian - eat meat only when I have to. But before that, I’m gonna try total-vegetarianism. I totally believe the pigs know what’s going to happen; it’s so sad.
chas,
very good suggestions! My parents and I are going to start recycling. You’re right, if only a few million people would do those things it would help SO much!
hillfolk22,
good for you for not using poison on your yard! I think a lot of people fail to realize that the weeds aren’t the only ones affected by the poison.
Peace in the world,
Sara
“Sometimes I talk about Karma like it grows on trees.” - Train
[ This Message was edited by: Sara on 2002-04-22 10:51 ]
hey sara,
i always ment to post this,espacially for the cat eaters on board here,and you know who you are,but perhaps this is a good time:)
let me see, can i remember, hmm
carnivorous, by nick bantock
eating beasts is not a sin
open wide and pop’em in.
baked or boiled or even roasted-
why not try them lightly toasted?
eating beasts is such a treat,
gnawing legs and nibbling feet.
don’t fret about its mortal soul,
pick’em up and swallow them whole.
eating beasts is not a sin,
open wide and pop’em in.
but be prepared,for the other view,
and don’t complain when they eat you.
On 2002-04-22 11:38, tansy wrote:
hey sara,
i always ment to post this,espacially for the cat eaters on board here,and you know who you are,but perhaps this is a good time:)
let me see, can i remember, hmm
carnivorous, by nick bantock
eating beasts is not a sin
open wide and pop’em in.
baked or boiled or even roasted-
why not try them lightly toasted?
eating beasts is such a treat,
gnawing legs and nibbling feet.
don’t fret about its mortal soul,
pick’em up and swallow them whole.
eating beasts is not a sin,
open wide and pop’em in.
but be prepared,for the other view,
and don’t complain when they eat you.
happy whistling and earth day
tansy
Hey tansy,
Just want you to know that you just ruined my day.
Hey, I admit it. I like cats. (Not like some of the other silly people around here who don’t know what they’re missing)
hey kittyhorn,
i am total cat person, i have one in my lap as i write. some people had made “cat remarks” some months ago. i have a lot of humor, and it just comes out in many forms
Okay, I just gotta vent. I really can’t stand it when people sit in cars at the curb in the loading zone while their spice/SO’s/whatever go into the grocery store, but I REALLY HATE IT when they leave their engines running. But the last couple of weeks I’ve come dangerously close to the breaking point.
For about 15 of the last 20 days here it’s been about 65-70 degrees (around 20-23 C) in the afternoon. So there have been people sitting at the curb IDLING WITH THEIR WINDOWS OPEN. What possible reason can there be for this? Today there was a guy at the curb with two kids in the back seat idling in his gas-guzzling SUV (I will point out that most of the idlers are in SUVs and minivans) when I went into the store. He was there when I came out again, at least 10 minutes later. His windows were open. His radio was not on (not that his battery couldn’t play the radio for 15 minutes). So not only is he increasing our dependence on oil (“foreigh oil” is the current catchphrase in the US), he’s polluting the air, his KIDS are breathing his exhaust, plus he’s setting a bad example for them.
I don’t understand that either. I also don’t understand where people get $30,000-$40,000 to spend on those SUVs, esp. the huge Expeditions and Yukons. I have a decent-paying job, but can’t afford one (or don’t want to spend that kind of $ on a depreciating thing like an auto). I like the 35 mpg I get and not having a car note. 10 mpg just wouldn’t be enough for me. Heck, with the middle east situation, we may all be riding bikes soon!
Well, it’s a little late for Earth Day, but once I get a better paying job, I’m buying one of those gas-electric hybrid cars. They don’t look as goofy as they used to, and getting 51 mpg on the highway is OK by me I can’t wait for the day when fuel-cell cars come out and we don’t need gasoline anymore.
On 2002-04-24 17:34, Akuma12 wrote:
Well, it’s a little late for Earth Day, but once I get a better paying job, I’m buying one of those gas-electric hybrid cars. They don’t look as goofy as they used to, and getting 51 mpg on the highway is OK by me > > I can’t wait for the day when fuel-cell cars come out and we don’t need gasoline anymore.
Jim
How 'bout solar? Okay, they don’t look all that great, but they wouldn’t cost in gas!
It’s not so hard in this day and age. When I first gave up meat (15 years ago this past Ash Wednesday), it WAS a real challenge…meat analogs were virtually non-existent, restaurant employees looked at you as if you were nuts (and often offered you the chicken or fish plate when you asked about vegetarian fare…oy!), and most people still thought vegetarians were all either college students or ageing hippies. Nowadays, analogs are readily available to make the transition easier, people know what vegetarianism means (and actually seem to have some respect for it!), there are tons of vegetarian societies (and websites!) out there (not to mention outstanding cookbooks)…it’s a different world.
If anyone’s interested in exploring vegetarianism, for Earth Day or for any other reason, I highly recommend visiting http://www.vegsource.com . It’s THE definitive vegetarian website…great discussion boards, recipe index, articles…even a restaurant database!
It’s not so hard in this day and age. When I first gave up meat (15 years ago this past Ash Wednesday), it WAS a real challenge…meat analogs were virtually non-existent, restaurant employees looked at you as if you were nuts (and often offered you the chicken or fish plate when you asked about vegetarian fare…oy!), and most people still thought vegetarians were all either college students or ageing hippies. Nowadays, analogs are readily available to make the transition easier, people know what vegetarianism means (and actually seem to have some respect for it!), there are tons of vegetarian societies (and websites!) out there (not to mention outstanding cookbooks)…it’s a different world.
If anyone’s interested in exploring vegetarianism, for Earth Day or for any other reason, I highly recommend visiting > http://www.vegsource.com > . It’s THE definitive vegetarian website…great discussion boards, recipe index, articles…even a restaurant database!
Redwolf
I agree. I also HIGHLY reccomend vegsource.
A search on google turns up bazillions of pages, too.
