Welcome to Stewards of the Earth

I remember my first Earth Day. I was in the 6th grade and I had just gotten finished reading “50 Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth.” It was life changing. For the rest of the year, I used both sides of my notebook paper (and drove my teachers nuts) and took really fast showers. I really felt like I was making a difference.

I lost touch with that side of me throughout high school and college. Even though I was aware that the Earth was precious and that we were running out of resources, I didn’t do much aside from recycle my paper and bottles, when I remembered.

Fast forward to 2002. I moved to Germany in September of that year and had to figure out how the Germans separate their trash. They recycle EVERYTHING, even food scraps which went in a special compost bin.  Suddenly, I was right back into it. The total output of actual trash in our household was very low. I even started using cloth grocery bags (a necessity in Europe).

This blog explores the issue of what one person can do to take care of the environment. I believe it’s a lot. If we all do what we can, it can make a widespread impact.

I believe that one person can help turn things around. When one person gets involved, it trickles down to those around you. They start to influence those around them. This translates to some pretty serious changes.

But caring for the environment is more than that. I believe that the Earth and all its resources are gifts for us to use and as a result of that, we should treat the earth with respect. I’ll explore all these themes and topics in greater detail as the blog progresses.

I derived the blog name from a passage in Genesis. The Bible tells us to take care of the Earth. No matter what your faith is, this is a message we can take with us and live with on a daily basis.

I’ll show you everything – my successes and failures included so that we can all learn together.

I’ll also provide you with practical suggestions for how to change your habits to help conserve precious resources. Chances are, there are some behaviors you can do without such as letting the water run while you brush your teeth – it’s only necessary to run the water when you really need it.

Most of all, my intention isn’t to preach. I am not perfect and I don’t expect you to be either. All I want is for us to be aware. Even if we do one good thing for the environment each day and nothing more, that’s still wonderful.

Do you want to start right now? Visit Care2.com (one of my favorite websites) and do the free clicks to donate. The cause list is fairly vast and the donation money actually comes from the sponsors. You can do this once per day. If you do nothing else, at least start with that.