Earth Day

Dear Yogis & Yoginis,

I saw a very touching film on Earth Day called "End of the Line". It was about the danger we are facing with over-fishing, all over the world. Fish is supposed to be really good food for us, so the world populations have been consuming large quantities of various kinds of fish. The fishing industries, in their eagerness to meet the consumer demand, have been building larger and larger fishing fleets, fishing further and further out into the open waters. Fish such as cod have been fished to near extinction, and the remaining few are not able to recover so far. Some fleet drag their nets on the ocean floor, devastating and destroying everything in its path. It is heart breaking to see the dead turtles, dolphins, corals and other sea lives being tossed back into the water. The entire ocean eco-system goes into a tail spin.
So what do we, as yogis and yoginis, need to do to be aware of our responsibility in our daily lives? Knowing that all things are inter-connected, that everything we do affects our environment not only in our life time, but all future life times for our children and grandchildren, will bring mindfulness to our actions.
If you are not recycling, now is the time to start. You can recycle Newspapers, Magazines, Cardboard Boxes, Plastic Bottles, Cans, Glass Bottles, and Dead Batteries. You cannot, however, recycle foam items such as foam plates, cups, take-out containers etc. Plastic bags and other non-biodegradable items, when swallowed by sea lives, can kill them. What else can we do, as ordinary citizens to help reduce environmental disasters that threaten our well-being? Here are some of the basic things we can do to help:
1. Drive smaller cars, and try to walk to places as much as possible (yes, it is hard to do on Saipan.)
2. Bring reusable shopping bags for your shopping trip. I don't always remember to do that, so my passenger seat is covered with bags to remind me.
3. Bring your own container for take-out orders. For doggie-bag, try to use foil wrap instead of foam container as much as possible.
4. Re-use non-confidential used paper as scratch paper.
5. Install energy saving light bulbs and turn off lights.
6. Recycle, recycle, recycle.
There are so many more things we can do to save our environment! The list is long and growing. As Yogis and Yoginis, we need to practice not only yoga poses, but also environmental mindfulness and good citizenship.
So what about the fish? Should we stop eating them? The short answer is no, we don't have to stop eating them, we just need to be aware of what we are eating. Do some research, ask questions (check with the folks at DEQ.)
Be all that you can be...
Namaste,
Clarie