Happy Earth Day! Being that I am a lover of the outdoors and all-things-natural, this is a day I love to celebrate!
Last weekend, I attended the Environmental Health Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona, which has been put together the last few years by my mentor/teacher, Dr. Walter Crinnion. This year’s symposium honored the “decades of love, laughter, and wisdom that Dr. Crinnion has shared with the world” as we lost him just a month before the conference on March 11th. Dr. Crinnion was considered one of the foremost experts in the field of environmental medicine and taught/lectured throughout North America and Europe as well as on the Crinnion Opinion podcast and blog. His latest book, co-authored by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, “Clinical Environmental Medicine” is a textbook for everyone to read these days. I had the honor of receiving a signed copy of what Dr. Walter said was the very first book out of the box last fall and I will always cherish it. I dedicate this blog in honor of him and his spirit and all of the effort he put into cleaning up the earth. Save the date for next year’s Environmental Health Symposium, “Immunotoxicity, Lyme, Mold, Pesticides and More,” in which I hope to be a presenter, from April 3-5 in Scottsdale, AZ.
The take home from this year’s Environmental Health Symposium was focused on how endocrine disrupting chemicals in our environment, including receipts, plastics, air pollution and more, impact our health, fertility and future generations to the point of extinction in much of the animal kingdom that is slowly working its way up to us. It’s imperative that we each take a thoughtful role on what we choose to put in, on and around our bodies. Your choices alone may seem small, but as a collective, we can make a big impact on the earth.
To celebrate Earth Day, one of our local natural grocery stores, Natural Grocers, has created the Ladybug Love Pledge.
They are asking us to take a pledge “to never use chemicals that harm ladybugs or other beneficial insects on my lawn or garden and to support 100% organic produce.” For every pledge, Natural Grocers is donating 10 cents to Beyond Pesticides up to $25,000. You can join the Ladybug Love Pledge online until April 30th.
You can discover more about Earth Day and the impact you have on the earth through the Earth Day Network. I encourage you to search for local Earth Day events in your community and help advocate for a clean earth however you’re able to do so. I am privileged to be part of an expert panel about mitigating toxic exposures with one of Durango’s local heroes, Katrina Blair and Turtle Lake Refuge on Friday, May 3rd at the annual Dandelion Festival. I recommend both Katrina’s book, “The Wild Wisdom of Weeds,” and her recipe book, “Local Wild Life – Turtle Lake Refuge Recipes for Living Deep.”
Even though Earth Day is celebrated just one day each year, I hope you will spend some time thinking about steps you can take and choices you can make to better impact yourself and the earth. Cleaning out your house of toxic chemicals, eating 100% organic produce, using a water filter in your home, replacing plastics with glass containers and reusable shopping bags, and spending more time each day in nature are just a handful of ways you can get started, however, the opportunities are endless. The Environmental Working Group is a wonderful resource to use to find non-toxic products, discover what is in your local tap water and well as learn more about the toxicity in your environment and how you can live healthier.
