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Earth Day around town |
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
By Lisa Isaacs
Special to the Mammoth Times
 This awards case in Mammoth Mountain’s Department of Environmental Programs is made from reprocessed sunflower shells and provides a good example of an attractive, recycled material.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/SUSAN MORNING
For the third year in a row, the community of Mammoth Lakes has joined forces to celebrate the earth and what it means to everyone. From Friday, April 18, to Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22, numerous businesses and organizations will showcase environmentally preferable products and offerings. Look for the bright yellow tie-dyed flags designating participants.
On Saturday, April 19, the Village will host Mammoth’s Earth Day festival, beginning at noon, with interactive exhibitors booths offering more opportunities and ideas for resource conservation. Refreshments will be available, including organic beer and wine. In the afternoon, a special organic fruit confection will honor Andrea Mead Lawrence’s birthday. Lawrence is renowned as Mammoth’s most famous Olympic downhill champion, who evolved into the region’s environmental "godmother." Birthday wishes will be followed by live music closing out the day, featuring rock and roll by Almost Famous from 3-7 p.m.
Beyond Mammoth’s Earth Day, every day there are many choices everyone can make that will help reduce personal impacts and conserve resources. Consciously practicing the newly expanded "4-Rs" resource conservation continuum — Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — is a great place to start. In many cases, it also saves money.
First, think Refuse. It’s a great way to easily save lots of resources. Refuse to buy or accept what you don’t need. It usually goes to waste anyway if you don’t really need it. Refuse to accept forests of junk mail by having your name removed from mailing lists. Refuse to continue repeating wasteful or harmful habits.
Next, think Reduce. Often, bigger is not better, especially when it comes to conserving resources. By focusing on quality, not quantity, you’ll purchase less, but what you get usually lasts longer and conserves far more. In today’s energy-challenged world facing catastrophic climate change, reducing energy use and our reliance on hydrocarbon fuels should be on top of everyone’s mind.
Reuse is the next step. When selecting a product to buy or thinking about throwing out an old product, consider other ways it could be reused to extend its useful lifespan. It takes a lot of resources to recycle products or make new ones, so reusing something is the smartest choice when possible. If you have materials you can’t use, give them to others who can. It may make you feel good, too.
Lastly, Recycle whatever materials you can. Recycling is defined as "remanufacturing or reprocessing materials into a new product," so these materials usually need to be separated and shipped to processing facilities. In Mammoth, collection services are provided for recycling glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans, mixed paper, cardboard, used batteries, electronic waste, motor oil and paint. Stop by Sierra Conservation Project’s booth on Saturday in the Village at Mammoth to learn more.
Also, don’t forget to “close the loop” and purchase products made from recycled materials, because if you’re not buying recycled, then you’re not truly recycling.
The following Web sites provide more information about ways you can incorporate the 4-Rs conservation continuum into your daily routine. For recycling, go to www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Recycle. To get off junk mail lists, go to www.dmachoice.org. To find out how many greenhouse gases you generate and ways to reduce them, go to www.carbonfootprint.com.
Lisa Isaacs is Environmental Director for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. See this week's Earth Day Wrap for complete schedule and event information.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 April 2008 )
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