Earth Day and In Motion Action

Have you ever completed something in advance and set it to post or send or whatever while you were away, and then it doesn’t work?> I have and here it is.

Dated, but still relevant my Earth Day blog contribution (oh technology…what a love hate relationship we have).

Ps. Imagine it’s Earth Day while your read! haha

It’s Earth Day today, which is awesome. Any opportunity to turn the world’s attention to the intensifying situation on our planet is good. Although as the cliché goes: “shouldn’t every day be earth day?” – I personally think yes, but that is beside the point.

The Breakdown

• The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970.
• Roughly 500 million people participate in 180 countries around the world.
• About 6 million Canadians take part in Earth Day.

The Issues

• Advocacy
• Climate Change
• Conservation & Biodiversity
• Education
• Energy
• Food & Agriculture
• Green Economy
• Green Schools
• Recycling & Waste Reduction
• Sustainable Development
• Water

The Physical Activity

I personally see being an “environmentalist” and physically active as two intertwined things. In one of my recent blogs [Road Warrior – Ditching Fuel for Physical] I talk about selling my truck and buying my bike. I love it! Its hard work but I know that it’s good for me and for the planet, so it’s worth it. I’m definitely not saying you shouldn’t ever drive or have a vehicle, but why not try the road less traveled from time to time?

There are a ton of different ways to transport yourself from point A to point B.  You’ve got your “minimalist” methods if you will: walking and jogging/running. There’s your classic “active wheel” methods: biking and rollerblading (I’ve even seen a unicycle dude in Regina). Then there are the stereotypically more youthful and “smaller wheeled active” methods: various shapes and sizes of skateboards (I’m sure you can tell I made up those categories, there’s nothing official about them, but they work for me).

If a commitment to active transportation isn’t for you what about reducing your screen time? You could try taking yourself outside to experience what everyone is so worried about a little more often. 

Some people love the gym and I’m not opposed to it but doing active things outside can be easier, cheaper and more fun. (Almost like you wouldn’t even realize it’s physical activity!) whyn ot try:

• Playing sports in the park with friends
• Swimming at the lake
• Hiking
• Going for a run
• Doing yoga/Tai Chi
• Cutting the grass/gardening
• Walking your dog
• Geocaching
• Mountain biking/rolling hill biking (it’s Saskatchewan)
• Skate/long boarding

And the list goes on. . .Check out Saskatchewan in motion’s 100 Easy Ways to Get Active.

So on Earth Day when the focus is so vast and overwhelming, and you’re just looking for some way to participate on a smaller scale here is an idea for you.

Cheesy as it may sound, reconnect with nature. Go outside, move around, take a look around and hopefully without even realizing it get in your physical activity for the day. It won’t hurt you, just the opposite actually (provided you don’t attempt anything crazy).

Let me know how it goes!

Happy Earth Day!

Kenji