At Long Last, the Carnival You've All Been Waiting For

I am a terrible blogger/person. Here I go, take a two week vacation, and when I come back? I promptly go AWOL again, and don't put up the fracking APLS Carnival.

So, first of all, to all of those that participated, I am extremely sorry. Please feel free to hurl tomatoes at me. I suck. I suck. I know, I suck.

But better late than never, right? So here we go:

Does Earth Day Matter?

Beany votes no, writing about a disappointing Earth Day event in San Diego. I still don't get why all Earth Day festivities don't have compost bins. Though, Beany, you should have expected the annoying music given your experience with annoying musicians at farmers markets.

On the other hand, Erin writes an eloquent post about how the month of April makes her thankful for the Earth. I have to concur. I spent seven years in Los Angeles where every month seems the same as the last. But living in London, where you actually get to witness a change of seasons, makes me remember the beauty of spring.

Heather points out another important benefit of Earth Day: creating awareness. She spent her Earth Day talking to people about the importance of local, sustainably grown food. Way to go, Heather.

The Budget Ecoist also believes that Earth Day is an important awareness builder. She focuses on Earth Day's potential to inform consumers of how to separate the green from the wash. She writes, "Earth Day is a good reminder to all of us that preserving our environment might provide companies yet another way to market their products — and that’s fine — but it’s our job as consumers to decide how we want to spend our hard-earned dollars."

Finally, a man's view! (Why are there so few men blogging about sustainable issues?) Rob vows to continue his green lifestyle, and discusses the importance of leading by example. Thanks for the post, Rob and good luck in your quest to get the Bulgarian electrician to switch to solar!

Abbie offers some family-friendly suggestions for celebrating the Earth any day of the year. I particularly like her suggestion to make water conservation a family experiment. I think when kids see the difference their conservationist practices make, they are more likely to be enthusiastic about conserving than if turning off the tap when you brush your teeth is merely a dictum from mom and dad.

Steph also comes down in favor of Earth Day, writing, "I love my husband every day but our anniversary provides us a special opportunity to review our relationship, be proud of the accomplishments we have made, and re-dedicate ourselves to our future. Among the crush of everyday life, we need a reminder to think about how we care for the earth." Well spoken.

And lastly, if you like inane waffling, you can check out my post on Earth Day. But really don't. Because, come on. Inane waffling.

Anyway, there you have it folks. Sorry again for it being so late.

And with that I am announcing that the APLS Carnival is looking for another administrator or two other administrators. It's only two hours of work a month; it's just two hours that frankly I know I won't get to right now. If you are interested, please leave a comment or email me at arduousblog (at) gmail (dot) com. I really want to keep this carnival going, but I just can't commit to the maintenance right now.

Finally, I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I wish I could say I'm going to get better about it, but, in all likelihood posting is going to continue to be spotty until my exams end on June 22nd. So, ya know, Google reader, all that. I apologize. But, hey! In four short months, I will be all done with this course!