The Launching of yet another green blog...

​I am not really ready to launch this website or blog. There is still much to be done in terms of structure, planning, and editing. However, tomorrow is Earth Day and that is the appropriate day to launch this site and my new journey. On April 22, 1970 I was a sophomore in high school in Chicago. I cut school that day. That was actually the only day I cut school. I took the CTA to the Civic Center Plaza (now the Daley Center) and along with thousands of other concerned citizens rallied for the earth. We were moved by the book Silent Spring that talked of a world without wildlife. The air was rusty brown, phosphates clogged the rivers, and there was no Clean Air or Clean Water Acts to protect earth.

During my high school years I worked as a stock boy at Saxon Paints. I remember the two plastics aisles. They were important because they had one thing in common, all of the products were made of plastic. This included statues, shelving, furniture, curtains, and frames. I also worked in the tool and hardware aisles. They were influenced by the beginnings of globalization. The tools were purchased by the company not for their precision or durability but rather by their weight.  These two areas would influence the environment for years to come. Petrol-based disposable products, often one time use and cheap imported products would shape our landscape and pollute our land, air, and waterways.

However, it was not all doom and gloom. The air and waterways did get cleaner. People did learn to recycle. Lead was removed from gas. DDT was removed from pesticides and today many of us see the fruits of that, we see American Bald Eagles. The efforts were not partisan. It was President Nixon who signed into law the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The EPA was created. We have had successes and yet we face what appears to be unsurmountable challenges if we are to stop and eventually reverse climate change.

That April in 1970 I witnessed peoples of differing generations, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and politics come together to serve the common good. I must believe we are still capable of acting in the common interest and not just be motivated by self-interest.

So today, one day short of 52 years since that first Earth Day I launch this modest platform that is website, blog, and connected to social media. I launch it to inspire me and remind me of all the little things people are doing that will make a difference. I launch it to remind me of the change in attitudes and worldviews that are motivating change. I launch it to remind myself I do not have the luxury of giving up.

I hope that many of you will join me in this journey. I do not want you to simply joining me as a reader. Rather I hope many of you will become contributors of stories, interviews, photographs, videos, and scientific, artistic, religious, and personal stories of motivation.

The Facebook group, A Little Greener Everyday will serve to post stories and events. This website will become a resources center or archive. The blog will be where I share my journey that I am embarking on, a journey that I hope includes many of you. 

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