happy earth day!

It's Earth Day - our annual calender reminder of our impact and footprint as consumers. Each year, however, this day becomes gravely more important, and a change in our behaviors evermore critical. Inevitably, activities and events seem to pop up around this time of year in hopes of bringing the circumstances of our environment to the forefront of consciousness and awareness. But today is just like every other day. We consume, we discard, we use once and destroy, we produce, we build, we tear down...all in a day's work. Certainly, today is a great day for the small changes, but it's also a great day to ask what we are doing to not just change our behaviors today, but to change our rituals and habits, our philosophies of consumption and our purchase decisions everyday. We're hitting the dire straits, where the incremental changes to be made are now the table stakes, and transformations in how we live are a necessity. Maybe you and I don't feel the impact of our waste today...but is it worth waiting until we do?

I usually find most Earth Day programs and environment-focused public service announcements fail to create a lasting impact. They're too easy to forget and it's too easy to ignore their messages, partially, I believe, because of the lack of cold, hard facts. I want the numbers - I want to know what kind of a dent I will create if I choose to walk or bike to work instead of drive, or what will happen if I recycle my can versus throw it away. I want to know the global impact I have if I change my behaviors, and what will happen if I don't. The information is out there, it's just not necessarily present where it might be most helpful - like in our grocery stores.

So, in light of Earth Day, and in the name of quantifying our global impact, I thought that for today's post I might share a video with you that I found both informative and inspiring. This video was created for a special Earth Day exhibit from the New York office of agency Deutsch and the Bronx Zoo. The exhibit, on display now through April 26th at the Bronx Zoo, features large, skeletal-looking sculptures in the shape of our endangered animals made from recycled materials.

Check out the video and be sure to visit the Bronx Zoo if you have the opportunity!

Happy Earth Day!