Enjoy our post for Earth Day 2010 – and great news!  Just hours before we posted KissMyCountry learned that Beth Terry and Sara Bayles, who inspired our Earth Day Resolutions -  were mentioned in the Huffington Post yesterday!  We interviewed both Beth and Sara as People Saving the Planet earlier this year, remain inspired by them and are thrilled to see that others agree!

Lexy:  It’s Earth Day 2010.  Forty years and Earth Day’s become a day to stop, reflect and focus on our planet.  It’s a new tradition – a Green New Year’s Day with HonestTea instead of champagne and a recycling bin in hand instead of a noisemaker.  So, let’s push this a little further.  Why not make an Earth Day Resolution on this day?  Something to work on and strive for, a Green Goal for the coming year.  It could be big, small, a real thing – reduce this, do more of that – or just a decision to talk more about Green, read more about Green, immerse yourself more in the Green world.  A Green Resolution to shape as you like, a little bit more to save the places you love.  I like this idea, but I know that not everyone likes – or keeps – resolutions.  It works for us, though, at KissMyCountry and we hope to encourage others.  My Earth Day Resolution this year is pretty simple – reduce my plastic consumption.  I’ve been inspired by Beth Terry’s Fake Plastic Fish and Sara Bayles’ The Daily Ocean; both women continue to pose thought-provoking questions and ask us to take a close look at how we live our lives.  Plastic is filling our oceans, and the result is not good and getting worse.  I love the beach and the ocean, so I’m going to use less plastic in the coming year and encourage others to do the same. 

Mr. K:  This Earth Day seems as big as any I can remember.  I recall one when I was in high school and it was a pretty big deal.  At least it seemed that way to my 15 year old mind. But since then, there’s been seemingly less attention or caring in general.  Until now. We are about to have a huge convergence on the National Mall in DC for THE CLIMATE RALLY. I’ll be there to report for KissMyCountry and find out what Earth Day means to the folks in attendance. There will be a concert featuring Sting and John Legend among others, and speakers include Rev. Jesse Jackson, and James Cameron. So Lexy and I agreed to make this Earth Day special by making resolutions.  I am very “Anti-New Year’s Resolution”.  I kinda think you either are going to do something or you are not.  But Lexy persuaded me (as she does on many things) so I decided there are few better reasons to do something you might not, than to save the planet.  So, what should I resolve to do? It wasn’t hard to figure out. I guiltily admit that I have 5 re-usable grocery bags and I forget to bring them with me probably 50% of my trips to Trader Joe’s (which I go to way too often) and just about any other store that doles out the cruddy plastic bags that we don’t need.  We typically use them for about 20 minutes or less, going from store to home.  (Sidebar-Props to Beth Terry for really measuring out her plastic usage and committing her life to being as plastic free as possible).  So beginning Earth Day 2010, I will keep three bags in my car (and not in the trunk so I actually see them).  I resolve to use them at every store I go to and to refuse plastic bags whenever possible.  It’s a small thing, but it adds up, and that’s the theme of KissMyCountry. The small actions do count and the more of them we adopt, the better off we’ll all be. Happy Earth Day and if you see a guy in the KissMyCountry “I heart My Planet” shirt, say “Hi.”

Lexy:  So that’s the coming year for myself and Mr. K.   What’s your Earth Day Resolution for the year?  Who inspired you to make a Green Change in your life?  Tell us – we’d like to hear and we’ll be glad to encourage you!