Let every day be Earth Day

Editor,

Earth Day, April 22, marks its 35th year in 2005. It is a time for people around the world to celebrate the many wonderful things the earth provides; food, water, plants, animals and everything we need to survive and thrive.

Earth day has become a worldwide movement to educate each other about environmental issues and encourage us to protect our planet, our children and our future.

"We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children," said Lester Brown.

April 22 is a time designated to remind us to celebrate the nourishment, beauty and simplicity the earth offers us every day.

Each year we are taught ways to help protect and care for the earth — they may seem small on the overall scale of problems of pollution in the world — but we should all accept the responsibility to do what we can each day.

We can reuse and recycle many items to reduce waste. Give your unwanted yet usable items to a non-profit thrift store of your choice and take in all acceptable recyclable trash to the recycling center.

We can be aware of what goes down our drains and help to protect our water supply by choosing environmentally safe, non-toxic household cleaning supplies and laundry products and by disposing of chemicals, paints and petroleum products wisely during use and cleanup.

We can reduce energy consumption in our homes, businesses and automobiles by being aware of our usage and making positive changes whenever possible to save and conserve.

We can support organic farmers by choosing organically grown and produced foods. Organic farmers support Earth Day everyday by using organic agriculture practices, which prohibit the use of toxic and persistent pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides sewage sludge and genetically engineered seeds. Organic farmers work to create rich, healthy soil to nurture their crops.

Studies have shown organic farming can help reduce ground and surface water contamination and uses less fossil energy than conventional farming. We can teach our children to plant trees, do not litter or be wasteful and to respect and honor the planet Earth that we call home.

We make many choices each day, so let everyday be Earth day and we can all be a part of the solution against pollution.

Colleen Pinkney

Polson