April 22, 2011 Children’s drawings for Earth Day stamps
“Earth Day is the first completely international and universal holiday that the world has ever known.” -Margaret Mead
This is our opportunity to take stock of how our lives impact the Earth, and what we can do about that “footprint.” The guidelines are easy if you remember and apply the 4 R’s of sustainable living:
Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, Refuse.
By focusing on just the tools of our trade: pen and paper- we’ll have plenty to think about…
Paper
On the back of my utility bills, there’s a statement: “Go green, save paper, save trees. Pay you bills on-line.” I pay my bills through the mail. I prefer to hand write a check and use the Postal Service, after all, I am a letter carrier! Besides, – if hackers can break into the Pentagon’s computers, how safe is anyone’s on-line banking account?
Paper IS made from trees. However, recycled paper is available everywhere. Recycled paper costs a few cents more but those few pennies are also saving trees! “Nothing is more recyclable than paper.”- Kitty Burns Florey
Did you ever stop to think about what happens to all those old computers that get discarded each year? How recyclable are they? In the landfill, they will leach out mercury and many other heavy metals into the ground and eventually poison the water table. And unless folks destroy their hard drives, their on-line accounts are available to anyone passing by! Learn how to recycle just about anything at earth911 (see below) just key in the item and your zip code.
Quite simply, I feel paper makes the best sense. “Paper is a sustainable, renewable, recyclable, plant-based product that connects us in so many ways to the important things in life.” -Paper Because
Playfully, I use “junk mail” as scrap paper. I write on the back of the envelopes- lists, post ideas, drafts for letters and doodles. After that it gets recycled!
Pens
Green writing tools are fountain pens, pens with replaceable cartridges, and mechanical pencils. Remember “100 million pens are discarded daily.” Buy pens that you will have for a long time. (See “7 Year pens” available in the Isabella catalog)….Look for pencils made from recycled paper or fabric.
Stamps
Recycle your postage stamps by sending them to Stamps for the Wounded, or use them in collage or mail art. Be creative!
