Why Not Lime?

18
April
2008

Earth Day Factoids, Trusting Bloggers, & Mass Swapping

Peace!
Earth Day Omaha is Saturday, April 19th.

The actual Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22nd.

I was wondering about the history of Earth Day, and I found this info here. I’m not sure that all of these things actually happened on an Earth Day, but this is an interesting time line of significant “lime” governmental policies!

For example, did you know that the first Earth Day was in 1970? Or that the EPA was rung in by “peace-fingers” Nixon in 1970? It wasn’t until 1974 that the EPA was able to regulate our drinking water. In 1986, Congress declared that the public rightfully should know when toxic chemicals are released into the land, air, and water. It wasn’t until 1988 that Congress banned the dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste into the ocean.

In 1993, the EPA reported that secondhand smoke pollutes indoor air. In 1996, the EPA required that home renters and buyers be alerted to lead-based paints. The list goes on.
My point is - we’ve come a loooong way, people!!! Although it’s shocking that some of these regulations - so normal to our everyday lives - were so recently put into place, it’s obvious that we have been taking steps in the right direction.

Earth Day is another reminder - to those of us that aren’t the EPA - that every little step helps.

My buddy Christin found another interesting weboid for you! (Weboid is my word - copyright that.) Is Earth Day the New Christmas?
Now that Earth Day has been around for almost 40 years, the event has started to get a tad commercial. There are a lot of companies that claim to be green, but are kinda full of “toilet garbage”. The consumer is still left to do their own research, which can be hard. Who to believe?

According to this article that Christin found, consumers are turning to bloggers. Yep, that’s right. Peeps like me. The article also details some of the more popular green blogs. (One of them has 10 staffers! I’ve only got one staffer. Me.)

The article also presents the 95-5 rule - that some companies feature 95% green advertisements, but only 5% actual green practices. Turning to the web for an honest opinion probably is the easiest option.

So - in honor of Earth Day and recycling, I’d like to introduce Swaptree. At this website, you create a list of items that you want, items that you’re willing to trade, and Swaptree makes it happen for you. The site even prints up the correct postage for you! No - I haven’t tried it yet, but I JUST found it today.

When I look at their “In the News” link (in the footer), I see that a lot of other trusted sources have recommended it as well. Give it a go! I’m going to, and I will report the results.

Elmwood Park on this Saturday - Be there.