Earth Day: Eco Kids Books on Big Universe

It’s Earth Day. 

I celebrated by stopping in at Starbucks for a cup of free Earth Day coffee and spent the next hour catching up with my husband and daughters, who are all on Easter break. Not one of us texted anyone, Googled anything or had ear buds in our ears. It was sweet. 

When I got home, I picked a bouquet of wild flowers. I am blessed to live in the countryside and can get my floral fix from my own backyard, rather than having to buy hothouse blooms shipped from across the country. I also played in my herb garden, pulling a few blades of grass from among the basil, mint and oregano. My 11 egg-producing hens clucked nearby. (This is my stab at being a locavore – a person who eats local or regionally grown  foods.) 

If I had the funds, I’d install some solar panels on the backside of the barn roof and the house. Heaven knows we get enough sun here in South Carolina. This spring, it’s been “in like a lion” and “out like a lion,” so a wind turbine would probably have generated some wattage, too. 

While those eco-friendly options may not be feasible right now, I can still do my part. We recycle, watch our water consumption, combine errands on our trips about town to reduce gas usage, and we compost leaves, grass clippings and all our food scraps. It’s the least we can do to protect the health of the earth we live on. 

Both of my girls are fairly green-minded. They’ve been raised that way, as was I. A little information and instruction and some behavior modeling go a long way. You, too, can influence the little people in your life to respect the environment. It’s their future. 

Earth-friendly Books on Big Universe 

• Going Green
• Green Careers: You Can Make Money AND Save the Planet
• Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
• Our Footprint on Earth
• The One Sea
• The One Tree
• Restoring Wetlands
• Wind Energy
• Pioneering Ecologists
• Rachel Carson: Nature’s Guardian
• What’s the Difference? An Endangered Animal Subtraction Story
• Biofuels
• Solar Energy

Get It While It’s Hot 

FYI…If you hurry, you can probably still get a free cup of joe (or tea) at your local Starbucks. Just remember to take your own travel mug or tumbler, which are eco-friendly. 

Last year, Starbucks estimated that 1.2 million people in the United States and Canada took advantage of the company’s Earth Day promotion. Starbucks is trying to raise awareness about how easy it is to reduce the amount of paper and Styrofoam that ends up in landfills. The company offers a similar incentive daily throughout the year. Take in a reusable mug and the barista will take 10 cents off your drink purchase. 

Happy Earth Day!

One Comment

• Summer Reading List: Boys Books the ‘Wheel Deal’ | Big Universe Learning - Blog says:

  July 11, 2011 at 5:23 pm

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