World Environmental Day June 5th

Today, June 5th, 2024 is World Environmental Awareness Day - Established in 1972 by the UN FOOD WASTE

The two issues that struck me were ones that I felt I could actually improve in my own life so I cut and pasted them to share with you. There were five issues in the e-mia9l nes letter that I get. One was to plant a tree which we did at my Quaker Meeting in Woodbury and have each yar that I have been a member there. Here are the the two I wanted to address:

FOOD WASTE

We’ve all been there: regretfully throwing out a bag of wilting spring mix or moldy pasta that we had the best of intentions for. According to the World Food Programme, a whopping 1.3 billion tonnes of the food produced for human consumption is wasted each year. That’s enough to feed about two billion people! It’s important to remember that the food we eat requires land, water and energy — plus human labor and greenhouse gas emissions — to make it to the grocery store. On an individual level, we can find ways to reduce food waste by meal planning and shopping from a list, supporting sustainable food retailers, properly storing food, and donating extra food to those in need. 

My idea for personal improvement is to buy fresh produce only when I am sure I am going to use it. I am guilty of buying salad items and then eating out a few times and having left overs so the salad stuff goes bad. I think I have some smelly broccoli in the fridge as I type.

PLASTIC

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few decades, you're probably aware that the Earth is dealing with a massive plastic problem. Around 91% of all plastic ever produced has not been recycled. This has led to plastic ending up in our oceans, environment, and landfills, destined to remain there for several generations. A few ways to avoid adding to the problem include: avoiding single-use plastics, wearing clothes made from natural fibers, purchasing secondhand items and encouraging your favorite brands to adopt plastic alternatives for their products and packaging. I am working on weening myself off plastic water bottles and I am planning to start buying bamboo made toilet paper to save Canadian trees. Well this is all food for thought and I hope you get some ideas on what you personally can do - oh yes, another thing: tidying up closets and drawers may show us all that we don't need to buy any more clothes! I have greatly reduced my clothing purchases by weeding out my closet and drawers and seeing how much stuff I don't wear or need and taking those items to a volunteer who distributes the to the homeless in Camden and Kensington, Pa.

Happy Trails friends - and a though ot sorrow and loss about the death of Al Horner a fantastic photographer who loved the Pines with his whole heart. I have a book of his photographs. He will be missed by all who knew him. He was far too young to die at 77 but I know that for some years he has had serious back problems and tried everthing known to modern medicine to relieve the pain so he could continue to hike the pines and take his beautiful photographs.