I came across an interesting new report today called The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming, from the National Wildlife Federation, available to download from http//www.nwf.org/gardenersguide/. It's got a lot of suggestions that make sense of a problem that sometimes seems so huge, we wonder how we can help in our own backyard gardens.
It suggests replacing regular outdoor light bulbs with compact fluorescents, installing outdoor automatic light timers and buying solar-powered garden products. Here's a biggie: Reduce the use of gasoline-powered yard tools. Now I know you fellas out there like your toys to go vroom vroom, and man, I hear you on Saturday mornings just having a ball out there. But there are millions of you, all fired up, in every community in the country. Think about that next time you get revved up to whack more weeds. Give us all a break.
The report also suggests we get rid of invasive plants in the garden and fill those spaces with a good mix of natives and trees, that we try to lower water consumption using rain barrels, mulch and xeriscaping, and that we finally kick into gear with composting.
I hear so many people say they love the idea of composting. Well, do it then! it's easy. You don't need fancy equipment. Many of you have suburban back yards, a heck of a lot more space than I have, and I manage to squeeze two large compost bins in there.
Here's another suggestion I really like: Encourage local home centers and garden retailers to carry energy-efficient products. Green is suddenly in (yeah, like the actor who works 20 years before being "discovered") and lobbying business people probably wouldn't be hard. The more buyers pester sellers, the better response we'll see. Our wheels can squeak pretty loudly!
None of this is heavy lifting. It's just a matter of changing habits and speaking up. And I think people are doing that more and more. Thanks, Al.
Gore, that is.
