From usaweekend.com
“Every little bit helps”
Actress Kyra Sedgwick urges you to do good for the environment.
By Kyra Sedgwick
Sedgwick and her family are passionate about living a green lifestyle.
When I had my son, Travis, in 1989, I had that “Aha!” moment that the environment is important not only for us, but also for the future of our kids and our grandkids. During that time, there was momentum about how we were depleting our resources and what we could do. Had we made the changes that we needed to make then, we’d be in a much better situation now.
One of my biggest peeves is plastic. Not just that we use too much, but also that making it creates greenhouse gases. Plastic will last longer than the pyramids — great languages will fade away, and we will still have that plastic water bottle that you really needed while you were taking your spinning class.
I see other examples in the least likely places. I go to a beautiful farmers’ market in Santa Monica, Calif., and everybody’s feeding themselves so well with organic fruits and vegetables. And then they give away plastic bags to hold your fresh oranges! It makes me crazy.
But there are things we can do. As a mom, I’ve tried to instill that attitude in my own family.
Part of being a good citizen is to be mindful of your waste. For example, there are coffeehouses everywhere, and people use plastic cups and throw them away. My kids may still use one occasionally, but when they do, there’s a pang of guilt, which frankly is not a bad thing. They’re also mindful when they buy their school supplies. We get refillable pens instead of the disposables that will end up in the ocean. We use paper towels, garbage bags and toilet paper made from recycled material. My daughter, Sosie, takes a stainless-steel water bottle to school, and she’s determined to get her high school to stop making plastic bottles available to buy.
I encourage everyone to think about doing something for the environment on Make A Difference Day or through the I Participate program (iparticipateusa.org). Start simply: Gather your family members and friends and clean a stream or pick up trash in a park. Plant trees or a garden.
There’s so much we can do, and every little bit does help. It’s one day at a time, one right action at a time.