First and foremost, to get into the right frame of mind is to get outside and reconnect with Nature. It doesn't matter if it's a big city park, or the beach or mountains or a forest or desert. Just get outside and take in all the natural beauty of our planet.

Ok, so here's a short list of things you can do to show some respect for Earth.

1. Instead of commuting alone in your car, try one of these alternatives:

Carpool with co-workers
Use a form of mass transit - bus, train, subway
Bike or walk if it's close enough to home

2. Coordinate trips to stores and other errands and plan out a route that will be most efficient. If your schedule allows, take into consideration what times the roads will be less busy.

3. Keep your vehicle tuned up. Change your oil regularly, but don't forget the air filter and fuel filters. Finally, make sure your tires are properly inflated. Under and over inflated tires cause premature wear and lower gas mileage.

4. Plant something green. A tree or flowers or better yet, take me up on my idea of Lawn Gardens. Get rid of that useless grass lawn and plant an herb or vegetable garden or fruit trees or edible flowers. You can get others to do this as well and then share the bounty. Besides the obvious recyclables - aluminum cans, newspaper and certain plastic containers, there is a whole slew of things that can and should be kept out of our landfills - and ultimately our fresh ground water supplies.

5. CLF bulbs - those corkscrew shaped compact fluorescent light bulbs have mercury in them - which is highly toxic to our environment. Other than laziness, ignorance and disrespect, there is no reason these should end up in your trashcan. Stores like Home Depot and Ikea will gladly take these from you free of charge.

Personally, I think these are a bad idea in the first place and merely a transitory product that will be replaced by a safer LED type of lightbulb.

6. Cell phones. Like many electronics, these are full of various precious metals and hazardous materials. Many organizations and businesses accept old cell phone donations which are then recycled or given to people in need.

7. Switch to rechargeable batteries. Although they may cost a little more up front, the long term savings far outweigh it. To say nothing of the amount of used batteries you didn't have to dispose of.

8. Start up a community drive in your neighborhood or workplace to have a collection center for used batteries, house paints, chemicals, and broken electronics and take them to your local haz-mat collection center. Check first to see if your city or county has one set up first.

9. Volunteer yourself and friends to clean up a public area where you live. Some ideas are city parks, roadside litter - especially drainage ditches where wildlife is often found.

10. For your home. Make sure your a/c and heating system is in good order and replace or clean those air filters regularly. Set the thermostat to 78-80 in the daytime in warmer climates. Consider running fans and opening the windows.

11. Turn off your lights for 1 hour at night. This idea comes from Earth Hour which started in Sydney Australia in 2007 on March 31st. I see no reason why this can't be a monthly event or even weekly or daily.

12. Switch to environmentally friendly cleaning products where ever possible. Laundry detergents, hand and dish washing soaps, household cleaners, etc. Remember, all of this ends up in the water supply. Shaklee's Get Clean line of cleaning products offers a whole home 'makeover' kit that replaces all of your harsh and harmful cleaning products.

So there you have a dozen ideas to start with. I'm sure you can think of many other things you can do to do your part for Earth Day. And remember, everyday is Earth Day. These are habits that need to be adapted, not just a once a year event like a holiday.

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