Don’t just wear green, wear green on St. Patrick’s Day – Citizens’ Environmental Coalition

Don’t just wear green, wear green on St. Patrick’s Day

Eduardo de la Garza

On March 17, Americans will dress up in festive green robes to hint at pinching and go to pubs to drink beer dyed green, for what better way to celebrate a saint’s day than debauchery? Frankly, even this holiday may be based more on allegory than truth.

Patrick, or Padraig, was a missionary who tried to convert the Irish to Christianity. The idea that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, even though there were no snakes in the area from the beginning, may have been based on folklore and on the use of “serpents” as a symbol of paganism. One can only guess how it turned into drinking green beer or dressing gnomes.

Besides another day of celebration, St. Patrick’s Day gives everyone something to celebrate: don’t just dress in green, but go green.

According to the College of Canyons, being green means “making certain lifestyle changes to help you lead a greener lifestyle. This means becoming more environmentally aware and changing your behavior and lifestyle to reduce the amount of pollution and waste you generate.”

Going green is a conscious lifestyle change. It doesn’t depend on donations – although donations to organizations that do the hard work help – but it does require individual effort. Recycling, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions and reduces waste, is the easiest way to become greener. Do not throw away aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic containers or plastic bags in the trash. Reuse recycled items or reuse containers instead of buying disposables. Buy large containers of water and refill refillable bottles or buy a filter.

“Energy is saved by reducing the amount of raw materials that are mined, processed, manufactured and transported to create new products,” says EverydayRecycler.com. “Proper recycling helps to use resources that have already been extracted and reduces our need for more, resulting in less energy consumption overall.”

Other ways to go green include saving energy and water. Turn off the lights when you’re not in the rooms, raise the thermostats in the summer and lower them in the winter, wash your clothes in cold water, take shorter showers, buy energy-efficient appliances, and protect your homes from the elements.

The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) recommends “adding insulation, upgrading windows and doors for efficiency, fixing air leaks, and upgrading the heating and air conditioning system.” There are costs associated with helping your home go green, but there is help available through the Insulation Assistance Program and the BakerRipley Insulation Program.

The next time your light bulb burns out, replace it with a compact fluorescent or, better yet, an LED light bulb. These light bulbs are more expensive in the short term, but they last longer and are significantly more cost effective in the long run.

Use one less car on the highway with Park and Drive or car sharing. Ride a bike or walk when possible. Choose the option to go paperless and pay your bills online. It’s the 21st century, you’ll still have records… and they’ll be easier to find.

And check out the Citizens’ Ecological Coalition Calendar. Instead of throwing hazardous materials in the trash, take them to places like the Colorado County Hazardous Waste Collection. Or donate plastic potted plants to the Bayou Preservation Association Pots for Plots. And of course, don’t litter and help with cleanups like Trash Bash 2023, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s monthly volunteer events, Coastal Prairie Conservancy Tuesday workdays at Indiangrass Prairie, or Edith Moore Nature Preserve Community Workdays.

During the March 17 celebrations, the next time someone wearing a “Kiss me I’m Irish” T-shirt comes up to you and asks why you’re not wearing anything green, say you gone green. You can still be pinched, but the world will be a better place.