Which Day?

I'm a big fan of the Earth. I try to recycle things when I can, reduce how much trash I generate and use resources responsibly. I take old books to a donation drop unless they're in good enough shape, when I give them to our local library so they can shelve them if they need that book or sell it to buy ones they do need. I've got a reusable cloth bag for when I shop at Wal-Mart and if I forget it, I make sure to just carry the stuff I buy out in my hands rather than bag it, or at least use as few plastic bags as possible if I've had to pick up several things. I decline a bag at most of the places where I shop. The ones I do use I bring to our church food pantry so they can be re-used to distribute the food we hand out.

But I really don't care about Earth Day in the slightest. It's too vague, too open-ended, too prone to "observances" like posting blog entries or Facebook status changes that mean absolutely nothing.

In another week or so, though, we can mark Arbor Day (set for April 30th). To observe Arbor Day, you actually have to do something -- plant a tree, to be precise. So for me, today is a day to remind you that you've got eight days left to buy yourself a tree to plant. Pick a good one and leave somebody some nice shade long after you're gone.