Happy Earth Day from the Green Girl

The Green Girl hopes everyone had the opportunity to honor our planet for Earth Day.

I decided to take part in my employer's Village Green program by applying to become a Green Champion for my office, the CasITa.

As the Green Champion, it's my job to encourage my office to be as green as possible. The Village Green group is tracking our power consumption and the office with the most significant reduction will assume the title of 'Greenest Facility'.

I sent out an email with some conservation tips and asked for additional suggestions.

The CasITa now turns on only half the ceiling lights. When I see empty offices, I make an effort to switch off the lights. We recycle our toner cartridges and the company gave each employee a mug to minimize paper cup usage.

I need to continue to identify ways our office can reduce our carbon footprint.

The Green Girl's Earth Day Run

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day today, the Green Girl scheduled her run so she could watch the sunset at 19:28 Pacific Time from Hilltop Park at Signal Hill.

Hilltop Park is a good place to view the sunset because the location offers a panoramic view of the Los Angeles basin.

If you face south, you can see downtown Long Beach with Catalina Island in the background. Looking west, you will see the South Bay area and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. And if you look north towards downtown Los Angeles, you will see the outline of the San Gabriel mountains in the distance.

The walkway leading to the park is etched with a poem. These words are a glimpse into the history of this hill.

      Here on this hill 
what perspective to see 
          our world 
                ourselves 
          with clarity 
    Each point of view 
                repositioning 
          living 
          vibrant 
          inspiring  
          We come 
          to this place 
    when life gets too fast 
          to reflect on time 
                make a sunset last 
          Consider 
    what has come to pass 
          Signal fire 
          Water tower 
    Oil gusher of black gold  
          Layers of the past 
          shadowed images 
                recalled 
                      The surface hints 
          of what you can't 
                      touch to know 
          Earth upon water 
                a secret 
                well hidden  

I sat down and watched as the clouds morphed around the setting sun and cast shadows across the sky. My heart danced as the warm colors settled down into the horizon.

I honored Earth on my run tonight by respecting her beauty.