Respect your mother

Today is Earth Day, but you wouldn't know it from reading the New York Times online or CNN or any of the other news services my Google home page crawls. I don't know about you but I find that not only a little sad, but worrisome as well. I realize that everyday we're hit with some news that's tied to the toll humanity is taking on the planet (the most recent being the severe water shortages in Mexico and the US), but shouldn't we still make an effort to make mention of the one day set aside to honor our Mother Earth?

I'm making a wild guess here, but I'll bet that come Mother's Day, the NYT will have some little ditty about Moms - some fact or at least a picture of Michelle Obama with her girls. But today, not even one little mention of someone planting a tree. Maybe we're just holding back until the 40th anniversary of Earth Day next year. I'll hang onto that hope.

I have to say not much in the way of commemoration is happening in San Miguel either, but happily we do have a nascent sustainability campaign. And by default, there are a lot of habits that would qualify as "green" in a thriving first world community, but for us it's just a way of life and a way to save money. Here a just a few examples (please feel free to try these at home... ;-)

• Line drying in the sun
  
• Reusable shopping bags (like my kitsch Frida bag)
  
• CFLs (in fact most of the chandeliers in the gothic Parroquia now have them - kind of funny looking but hey, it saves a bundle!)
  
• Walking or taking the bus
  
• Recycling plastic bags (the local Episcopalian church stuffs mattresses with them)
  
• Natural ventilation (hand-held fans are quite the fashion accessory among some circles)

Of course, lord knows Mexico is not the poster child for healthy, sustainable living. But hopefully it will improve. And if the media can make an effort to remind us of what we owe to our Mother Earth, even if just for one day, I think it can make a difference.