Earth day is an excellent reminder to celebrate our planet by taking more action steps to be a little bit greener. We've come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970, which was created to inspire awareness and appreciation of the earth's environment. Yet, sometimes it feels like we have been taking baby steps. Perhaps this year we can jump in with both feet and make a bigger difference.

While we cannot change what Mother Nature so violently dishes out, as we have seen in the news just this past week, we can be gentler with the earth and do our part to help sustain our natural surroundings and prevent what IS preventable. We can each make a difference, even if in a small way. Earth Day 2010 is a great time to start. Sometimes it can feel confusing and overwhelming to know what is green and what isn't and how to leave a smaller carbon footprint behind. Here are some helpful suggestions we can all use to get started.

• Consider using biodegradable products to clean our homes from ceiling to floor.
• Discard harmful chemicals the right way through proper disposal provided by our waste management companies.
• If you are in business for yourself, make a commitment to learn about and begin to use green technology in 2010.
• Take your cloth bags to the grocery store. Let's recycle those plastic bags.
• Begin to switch over to energy-efficient light bulbs called CFL or Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. Its one small step but it makes a huge impact.
• If available, take public transportation at least once this week. Walk or ride your bike and experience a new route.
• Discontinue the practice of buying bottled water in plastic bottles. Fill an empty glass container or one of those new reusable stainless steel containers each day with filtered water.
• Consider buying some items in bulk to save on packaging.
• We can all be more mindful of how we recycle our trash. Each refuse company sends out instructions or they can be found on the Internet. Let's brush up and then take the extra step to sort correctly. Did you know that the average American generates over 4 lbs. of trash each day? Read more...
• Plant a garden of fresh vegetables and eat healthy this summer.
• Learn to garden without the use of pesticides. Organic farming can even be done in our windowsills!
• Learn to how to compost organic matter from the kitchen. Compost is perfect fertilizer for that organic garden, no matter how small. In our community, South Lake Tahoe, they have started a community based composting program still in the early development stages. Make an inquiry in your local community to see if a similar program has been suggested.
• Its almost time to mow that lawn! This year try the push mower of yesteryear and leave your gas guzzler parked in the garage.
• Volunteer to pick up trash around your local rivers and streams, make a difference. Check your local papers for announcements.