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Small eco-steps can add up

Earth Day activities heighten awareness

By: Adam Wazny

Posted: 04/23/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image

Derek Flett was one of approximately 100 volunteers out picking up litter in the Main Street and Higgins area.

For an observance built around the need for environmental sustainability, Earth Day has a few maintenance issues of its own.

Much like its younger cousin, Earth Hour, where the lights go dim for 60 minutes to show support for energy conservation, Earth Day activities give a sense of the tiny sacrifices required to make an ecological difference.

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Kristin Flett holds a garbage bag as Marissa Daughney cleans up on Carlton Street. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

But it's just one day -- not a daily event. So if those practices aren't sustained over an extended period, and participating in work-sanctioned green projects is just an excuse to get out of the office before jumping back into old routines, then what's the point?

Is it possible Earth Day has turned into an Earth cliché?

"No, I think Earth Day still has great value," Randall McQuaker, the director of the enviro-friendly Resource Conservation Manitoba group, said Thursday -- Earth Day.

"It does turn people's thoughts to environmental sustainability, getting them thinking about some of the things they might do.

"The concern from our perspective is that the actions don't stop there. It isn't just enough to do something on Earth Day."

In Winnipeg, a number of business and organizations participated in some form of change on Earth Day.

Some, like the 100 or so individuals who came together for the five-kilometre walk to raise money for a clean drinking water system in east Africa, took their eco-intentions outside the city, while others directed their energies closer to home, picking up a garbage bag and pitching in at the annual spring cleanup put on by the Downtown Business Improvement Zone.

"The kind of people who come out for Earth Day are the same ones who care enough to do something every day," said Kirsten Flett before setting off with Marissa Daughney to clean up the core area. "Anyone can make changes if they want to make changes."

Curtis Robinson has a different take on why Earth Day hasn't made a bigger impact. "People are lazy -- that's the only reason," he said.

McQuaker said it's not as simple as that. He sees people becoming frustrated with the idea of environmental awareness before they even think about the blue box, as the scale of change can be overwhelming.

Though composting requires commitment and making smarter food choices do cost money, McQuaker says the smallest switch in a routine can be the most important step for an individual looking to make Earth Day last a lifetime.

Most can't give up their cars but that doesn't mean you can't take a bus or bicycle to work once or twice a week, he notes.

"Sometimes there are four Rs -- reduce, reuse, recycle, and relax," McQuaker said. "In other words, don't be too hard on yourself. Try to do what you can, and don't let the urgency of the big changes prevent you from making the small ones that can make a difference."

Thursday marked the 40th year of Earth Day internationally.

adam.wazny@fresspress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 23, 2010 B2

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