Why Earth Day Matters — And How You Can Make a Difference
April 22 is more than just another day on the calendar—it’s Earth Day, a powerful reminder that we share a responsibility to protect the planet we call home.
Started in 1970, Earth Day sparked a movement that brought environmental concerns to the forefront. Today, more than 190 countries around the world take part in events, campaigns, and everyday actions that aim to build a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future.
This year’s theme, “Planet vs. Plastics,” focuses on one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time: plastic pollution. From oceans and forests to our own communities, plastic waste is everywhere—and it’s harming wildlife, ecosystems, and even our health. Earth Day encourages each of us to do what we can to reduce our use of single-use plastics and find more sustainable alternatives.
But Earth Day is about more than just plastics. It’s about: • Conserving energy • Reducing food waste • Supporting eco-friendly businesses • Protecting green spaces • Educating ourselves and others
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to change everything overnight. But small changes, made consistently, add up. Bring a reusable bag, skip the plastic straw, recycle mindfully, and talk to your community about why this matters.
The truth is—every day is Earth Day when we choose to live with intention and care. Let this April 22 be your invitation to do a little more, speak a little louder, and love this planet a little harder.
Can you see the future? It is daunting. I see a change in some privacy protections regarding Covid19 status. Pre or Post Covid19 infection certifications. A loss of some HIPAA protections in the guise of Public Health prerogatives. Let the lawsuits proceed! What will be the civil liberty concerns as this pandemic changes the social structures of our future. Before going into a restaurant will you have to show your Covid19 certification? When you enter a hospital or go to an Emergency Room, will your Covid19 status dictate which door you enter. As a Black man who understands the ramifications of bias, my experiences extend to the general public: will my Covid19 status determine my access to jobs, travel, opportunity. Will dating apps now reveal the Covid19 status of the prospective date?
I know this seems absurd on the face of it but you would be surprised what fear will do to a society (see the Red Scare period of our country’s history). If and when a vaccine is developed, will the anti-vaccine crowd be denied access to public schools upon refusing to use it. Will you be able to refuse the vaccine based on religious grounds? There are public health laws that allow the incarceration of individuals that pose a threat to the general public, will this happen here if an individual is presenting symptoms but refuses to self-isolate? Get used to proximity tracking of your travel in cities based on your Covid19 status. Our days of innocence are over. We will not be able to look down on the political decisions of the leadership of China in their authoritarian way of governance to control their populace. Can that happen here? And be cautious America, be on guard for the hardline, authoritarian political leaders who will want to control many aspects of your life based on your Covid19 status. Any excuse for power-grabbing is fair game in the post Covid-19 age.
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Will Covid19ism become the new racism? Or will all this fade as we get accustomed to this new reality. Our norms will change, are changing already.
Handshakes are a thing of the past, doorknobs will disappear (who wants to touch those anymore?). We will wash our hands more as a result which is a good thing and anyone entering our homes will be expected to wash their hands immediately (I suspect there will be a decrease in seasonal Influenza). We have to be alert to the possible erosions to our privacy and freedoms. I am all for testing , but please maintain my privacy. I know that a balance will have to be found to protect my individual privacy and the protection of the public and my neighbors. I just want to give you some food for thought.
Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!!!DO NOT place your hands to your mouth, nose, eyes and in your ear. These are all PORTALS OF ENTRY for the Covid-19 virus to gain entry to your body and cause infection. Any discussion about the danger of the Covid-19 virus must be first started by indicating that the best way to help arrest the spread of this pathogen is to insist that you wash your hands, use a lot of friction, wash up to your wrists, remove all your jewelry, wash your hands for no less than 20 seconds, force your fingertips into the palm of your hand to clean under your fingernails, use friction when washing between your fingers and then repeat this ritual multiple times a day. Do not get bored practicing this exercise in survival. It is important to note that the use of an alcohol based hand sanitizer is no substitute for hand washing; it is only a stopgap measure when you don’t have the ability to wash your hands thoroughly. Insist that visitors to your home or business first wash their hands when they enter your home. It’s OK to ask. You are not being rude, quite the contrary. You are showing the utmost respect as a host showing your concern for you company’s or customer’s wellbeing.
Normal practices are going to vanish for a while. DON’T shake hands when greeting someone. Respectfully decline and instead touch elbows or nod your head. These are challenging times and we must collectively meet the challenge of this danger among us. This is not the time to panic. It is never a time to panic. It is a time for effective, collective action. Take the time to show your kids how to wash their hands and make it a ritual. Kids respond to rituals and they like to follow the leader. Make it a game of who can wash their hands more. Tell them to keep count on the amounts of times they have washed their hands during the day and see who can ‘win’ the count. Let your young kids see you rush to the bathroom to be ‘first’ to wash your hands when you get home from school pick-up, a visit to Grandma and Pop-Pop (please wash your hands when entering any elder’s home. This virus is disproportionately impacting the elderly, especially with those who have underlying chronic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension). Your kids will run to beat you every day. Start this at the earliest time that your youngster can understand the need to wash their hands (3 years old).
When putting gas in your car, wear a glove. Wear a glove when placing your credit card in the slot, there are germs there. Wear a glove when handling the spigot putting gas in your car. Carefully take off the glove when entering the car without touching anything then before you touch your steering wheel, sanitize your hand. Yeah, I know…that’s a lot of steps, but once you get used to it, this becomes second nature. Just remember that viruses can live on surfaces for a long time and the amount of time this virus can exist on a surface is undetermined. Remember, THINGS HAVE CHANGED!!!
Businesses on Main Street, restaurants, grocery stores should make their bathrooms available for hand washing and stock the bathroom with soap and paper towels. Write this expense into your budgets and manage the bathrooms well. Businesses should schedule times during the day that they will clean the doorknobs leading to their store. Door knobs and handles harbor a vast among of germs and keeping this clean will go a long way to protecting your customers and staff. A simple solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water will suffice. Wash your hands after cleaning these surfaces.
If you have counters in your business, similarly clean these surfaces on a routine schedule. No less than once every ½ hour if it is a busy day. If, available provide a ‘Purell/ hand sanitizer station at the store entrance. You can gently ask customers to use the sanitizer upon entering your shop. If every store does this, it will become customary and not seen as an imposition. Normal Operating Procedure. We can do this.
Now for the virus. High fever, Shortness of Breath (SOB), difficulty breathing, coughing and cold symptoms, feeling like crap are hallmarks of this disease. See you doctor. If you cough or sneeze, please do so in the crook of your elbow or in a tissue that should be disposed of in the trash. Wash or sanitize your hands. Covid-19 is called a droplet infection and is carried primarily by germs in the droplets you sneeze or cough out. If you are symptomatic, it does not mean definitively that you have the infection but out of caution you could wear a surgical mask. For the uninitiated, regular surgical masks will NOT protect you FROM the illness but should be used by those who are symptomatic to reduce the amount of infection spread. Over -The Counter (OTC) N-95 designated masks will provide some protection against infection but these are not ‘Fit-Tested’ which means these masks are not specifically molded to your face so there still remains some risk for illness while wearing these OTC N-95 designated masks. Save your money! Self quarantine/isolation is not always practical but may be necessary in your own home to prevent the spread of this illness before seeing a doctor.
This is a PANDEMIC. Pandemics unfortunately have histories of coming in waves. During the Spanish Flu of 1917-1918, there was a first wave of illness, then it subsided, making everyone think that things were improving, but the virus mutated and came back more dangerous and deadly on the second wave. We must be cautious and vigilant. Be consistent in your approach to addressing this disease. Good consistent hand washing will go a long way to keeping you and your family and community healthy. This is by no means a complete list of things to do to protect you and your family and community but it will give you a start on how to think about this illness and our response to it.
Stay safe!!!
For more information and updates click on the following links:
Hamptons 2019 Beach Information- It’s that time of the year again to start thinking about summer vacations and Hamptons Mouthpiece is all about keeping you in the know. The Hamptons is a quick 1 day getaway from all areas in Connecticut, Westchester, NYC, LI(Nassau & Suffolk) and New Jersey. Renting in the Hamptons is an option that many people tend to do, it can be affordable you just need to do your homework to find those places. Remember when renting to always ask about a beach pass for many of the local beaches, the daily rates can add up and become expensive. If you are visiting for a day, there are some beaches where the fee is affordable but you might want to bring a couple of friends to share the expense.
If you would like to save on Parking Fees here are some suggestions:
Park outside of the beach Parking lot…Caution make sure you can park there legally, the tickets will cost you more than the daily beach pass and in the town of Southampton your car might be towed.
Biking to the beach is always an option and it is free
Go after 5pm when parking is free….NOTE*Lifeguard duty might be over
Hamptons Free Ride (Southampton and East Hampton)
Walk
Have someone drop you off
The Free Rideis an alternative to driving if you want to go to a beach in East Hampton, Montauk or Southampton. Service begins Memorial Day to Labor Day.
I asked my network for their opinions on the their favorite Beaches in the Hamptons…and I thought I would share the top 10 Favorites…These are all public beaches….For more information on these beaches SEE INFO LISTED BELOW*** Coopers Beach in Southampton and Main Beach in East Hampton made Town & Country Magazine 2019 once again “Top 15 Beaches on the East Coast”
Hamptons 2019 Beach Information
Main Beach **East Hampton
Coopers Beach**Southampton “Village Beach”
Sagg Main**Sagaponack
Ditch Plains**Amagansett/Montauk
Wainscott Main**Wainscott
Scott Cameron**Bridgehampton
Indian Wells**Amagansett “Village Beach”
Peters Pond Beach, Sagaponack
Flying Point Beach, Watermill
Mecox Beach, Bridgehampton?
Click on Links below: For 2019 Updated information on beaches in the Hamptons and beach passes.
GRATEFUL…Don’t Sweat the small stuff! On this anniversary of 9/11, We often get wrapped up in small stuff that just does not matter. We stay angry with loved ones and close friends for things that are so unimportant. Tomorrow is not promised to us and God has a plan for each one of us. Tuesday, September 11th 2001 is a day that I will never forget. It was a horrific day in American History, and I can remember that day as if it just happened yesterday. I take comfort in knowing that those innocent people who lost their lives on that day will never be forgotten. I have not visited the 911 museum but it is on my list of things to do next time I am in NYC. All we can do is LIVE, and not get so wrapped up in sweating the small stuff...Life is a gift that should be treasured and never taken for granted.
9/11 Memorial photo credit: inhabitat.com
Kurt had a touching poem in his possession called “Just for Today“ by Sally Meyer a poem to a child from a mother and it touched me so much I wanted to share with all of you. (Click here to read the poem)
I can remember when I first moved to Sag Harbor 17 years ago…with a then 8-year-old and a 2-year-old. Kurt was working in NYC and I was alone in a new area with no friends or family, feeling somewhat overwhelmed. I was still working in Brooklyn for the 1st month and I remember the morning of 9/11 I had just dropped Dani off at school and I was going to drive into Brooklyn with Allura to my job. Kurt had called me because he had just received a phone call telling him his father was diagnosed with cancer and he was so distraught, I talked to him and he was able to pull himself together and continue his drive into NYC to work. An hour later he called to say Ness turn on the news…do not drive into the city today. That is when I remember turning on the TV and I felt frozen…many of my friends worked in many of the world trade buildings and a feeling of intense grief came over me. I am grateful all of my friends are doing well, but many parents did not make it home to their children. On this very special day and the anniversary of 9/11, I share this poem with many parents feelings overwhelmed and not taking a minute to just enjoy your child. Although my children are much older 25 and 18, I realize that I often get wrapped up with work and I do not stop to enjoy a conversation with them. Take the time turn off the cell phone, television, computer. When everyone is together we play a game of Sorry...a board game. The cell phones are put away and we just enjoy each other’s company.
I am so grateful and blessed for my wonderful daughters in my life and there is not a day that I do not say thank you for loaning them to me to raise, nurture, guide, love, teach and get to a place where they will hopefully one day become a parent doing what I have done for them. In life, we often sweat the small stuff and this poem “Just for Today”by Sally Meyer just put things into perspective for me as a parent and I took the time to enjoy every minute of my girls growing up because tomorrow is not promised to us. My girls are now women and I still make time every day to talk to them and when I can spend time with them doing things they enjoy doing.