Mother, I love you.

Though I do love my mom dearly, today I'm channeling my inner hippie to pay tribute to a different mother: Earth.

Yesterday was Earth Day - which is quickly climbing to the top of my list of favorite holidays. We didn't get the day off school, but that doesn't mean we didn't celebrate. We started potato sprouts (with supplies I bought that morning and carried to my car in my reusable shopping bag), learned about the water cycle, watched some amazing footage from Planet Earth, and cleaned up the trash off the playground.

Once home I planted some seeds in a couple of flower pots I own, and one I made from an old milk carton.

*imminent soap box approaching*

100 years ago there were about 2 Billion people on Earth. Today there are nearly 7 Billion. In the next 40 years that will increase to over 9 Billion. That's a lot of people. And we're making a big dent. Last year our field trip was to the Landfill. We learned that landfills are designed to hold 12 year's worth of trash and we're filling them up in 5. Yikes.

This is a pretty fascinating look at some worldwide stastistics. Some of them are kind of scary. To sum up some of the more interesting stats - The world population increases by about 3 people every second, there are more overweight people than undernourished people in the world (about a billion of each), Earth has traveled about 290,000,000 km so far this year, there have been 2.2 billion Google searches today, there are appx. 15,000 days til all the oil on Earth runs out (that's about 40 years), the average temperature on the planet is 14.5 degrees Celsius (58.1 F), and so far today - it's about 5:20 - world governments have spent $6.3 Billion on healthcare - yep that's just today. There really are lots of other neato statistics on there, so take a look.

Anyway, in celebration of our planet, here are some easy things you can do to go green and make a difference:

Energy-efficient light bulbs

Recycle Electronics

Do full loads of laundry, and wash clothes in cold water

Support local farmers

Install a low-flow shower head

Walk or bike to work

Fix a leaky faucet

Let Your Grass Grow*

Make your own cleaning products

Turn lights, electronics, and appliances off when you're not using them

Buy reusable shopping bags and water bottles

Reuse or recycle plastic bags, bottles, and cartons

Have an energy audit done on your home

And my personal favorite of the day:

Remember - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Go Earth!

*Spending less time tending to your actually makes it greener -- in every sense of the word. Most grass species fare best when they're kept at least 2 1/2 inches tall. The length creates more surface area to absorb sunlight, which creates thicker turf and deeper roots, which means you won't need to water as often. Save money by letting grass clippings remain on your lawn; it adds nitrogen and discourages weed seeds from germinating. You'll need less fertilizer and herbicide. Plus, leaving clippings on lawns means less in landfills; in 2005 Americans disposed of more than 12 million tons of yard waste.