I wish to share this article with you all on this Earth Day! ...

Earth Day: Start Them When They’re Young

by Lamar and Ronnie  Tyler

I can’t get my son to stop using paper plates and cups. I really don’t blame him because when  he lived at home we used them a lot. With seven people living in our household,  I thought using paper plates would save time (from washing so many dishes), and  money (as we would not be using as much water or the dishwasher as much). And  just so you know…washing dishes is the bane of my existence.

Joining the Moms Clean Air Force has opened my eyes to the negative  impacts that not only big businesses such as coal-fired power plants have on the  health of our citizens, but I also see the impacts that individual families have  on the environment as well.

“Almost ¾ of mercury air emissions come from coal-fired power  plan...

Mom On A Mission

This made me want to do everything in my power to minimize my family’s  environmental footprint. I have become a mom on a mission to change our way of  living and make our home environmentally-friendly, which in turn will decrease  our use of energy from power plants.

We cut off lights that are not being used. In fact, I try not to even power  on the lights until the sun goes down. We have started to replace our light  bulbs with Energy Star qualified lighting. We stopped using paper plates and  cups and plastic spoons and forks. And, the entire family is on board. The kids  are in charge of the recycling, and they regularly police us when the lights are  being left on. My mother in-law also joined in, even though she questioned  me, “Are you sure you want to give up the paper plates?”

Unfortunately, my son moved off to college and missed our energy transformation. When I helped him pack for his dorm room, I purchased a four-pack of durable cups, plates, forks, spoons and bowls. I explained that he would be able to keep more money in his pockets if he did not purchase paper plates and such for his dorm. I did not even bother to discuss the impacts to the environment. I thought the money would be the only incentive he needed. Not so. He keeps calling me and saying, “Mom, I need more paper products.”

He’s addicted to them like we were. For some reason, we had a pack of paper  plates in the house and I was surprised at how easily we slipped back into  selecting those paper plates instead of real dishes at meal times. Thank God  they’re gone…Thank God I didn’t have a total relapse by trying to purchase more  paper plates when we ran out.

I remind my son about the dishes that I purchased. But he says: “Our  dorm kitchen is so disgusting that I don’t even want to wash dishes in there.” I  think: Yuck, but you want to eat in there! I can just imagine a dorm  with four young men can get a little rancid. I don’t even want to think about  what their bathroom looks like.

Everyone Must Do Their Part

I explained to my son that if they all did their part (he and his roommates)  to keep the little bit of dishes they had clean, the dorm would be a much nicer  environment to live in. The same statement applies to all of us. If we all did  our part by taking even the smallest actions, together we could make a major  impact on the environment.

• If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures  or the bulbs in them with Energy Star qualified lighting, we would save close to $8  billion each year in energy costs, and together we’d prevent the greenhouse  gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars (EPA)
• Whenever possible, walk or ride a bike. “In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of  tota...

If we all taught our children to be environmentally-conscious from a young  age, could you imagine what type of world we would have? My dream this Earth Day  is that in 20 to 30 years, when these kids became decision-makers, they will  think about their impact on the environment and come up with with new solutions,  implement sound policies, build ecological infrastructures, and raise healthy  families!

So, while our THREE younger girls have become the recycle monitors and the  energy police around the house, I still have hope for my oldest. I will keep  working on him.

We have only one Earth, please teach your kids to protect it. Join Moms Clean Air Force and fight for our kids’ future.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/earth-day-start-them-when-theyre-young....