Earth Day is Monday, April 22. It will be officially celebrated in an organized fashion through North Kitsap during the coming weekend. We’ll have an Ecofest near Kingston, plant trees, and generally acknowledge the importance of our planet. There is information about these celebrations in today’s Calendar and there will be even more information in Saturday’s Herald.

We’ve been celebrating Earth Day each year for 32 years now. Frankly, we wish they would re-name the event.

Anything called Earth Day is far too large a concept for anybody to assume personal responsibility. One person can’t be responsible for the whole earth–even for a single day.

One person can be, however, individually accountable for one small portion of the earth–North Kitsap, our own community or reservation, our own yard, home and family’s uses of resources.

Simple changes you can make (for just this one day) could have a lasting impact. Here are some suggestions about how you could celebrate Earth Day:

• Plant flowers, vegetables or trees.

• Pick up trash along your street or your yard.

• Turn off the lights, radio or TV when you leave the room.

• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth––saves about four gallons or water.

• Take a shorter shower.

• Keep a jug of cold water in the refrigerator instead of running it from the tap until it gets cold.

• Hang a bird feeder in your yard.

• Donate old books and magazines to a doctor’s or dentist’s office or to the library.

• Start a compost pile.

• Recycle old issues of the Herald, cardboard boxes, junk mail, cans and bottles.

• Give outgrown clothes to Fishline or another organization that can use them.

• Use both sides of computer scrap paper.

• Use plastic grocery store bags as trash can liners.

• Don’t litter.

• Walk for short trips instead of driving.

• Encourage your friends and family to do the same things.

Together, we can change our small portion of the earth on every day.