In our horticulture work, we often marvel at our plants’ abilities to adapt and survive. Seeds dropped or discarded on the edge of a concrete path will grow to produce flowers, and sometimes do even better than the plants we nurture (go figure! 🙄). Today we are marveling at the seedling shown below, whose small leaves happened to grow and curve in, with the seed still attached, in the shape of a heart. I took that as a message that the plants (and the Earth as a whole) give back the love that they receive.

Our growing journey in temperate zone 5 started a decade ago and we are now, without moving from our current home, in zone 6. The climate, particularly the higher temperatures combined with drought, has been a frequent topic of ColorBlindWork social media posts and will continue to be. We have decided that until our government officials reinstate projects and programs meant to do something about it, it is up to those like us to share information and do whatever we can.

So we are going to intensify our mission to show love to the planet. Like most people, in the past we found ourselves enjoying comforts that are going to make everyone uncomfortable later. By that I mean, convenient food, convenient transportation, and convenient consumables. However, we’ve been on a mission to make changes in our habits and we want to encourage others to do the same. Each one of us can make better choices. Here are some ideas:

• Get some solar: We use solar lights outdoors (replaced gas light) and are investigating ground solar for our property. The cost of solar varies so take a look and see what you can afford.
• Get some rechargeable fans: Camping fans recharge quickly and can run for days. They are helpful in the event of a hot weather power outage.
• Shop/buy less: Many consumer items–especially toys, electronics, clothing and shoes–make their way to the landfill. Keep what you have. Trade with others.
• Recycle/Reuse/Repurpose: It’s easy to just toss things away but take time to consider what you can do with an item before sending it to the landfill.
• Eat more vegetables: Of course these cost more at stores so look to local farmers’ markets or grow your own food.
• Catch rainwater to use on the garden and lawn: we have buckets with lids that are set out during storms and stored to use later. We also use bathroom sink water for toilet water.
• Eat out less: Cook at home to eliminate plastics, Styrofoam and paper that is unnecessary in your kitchen.
• Do your dishes: Use washable cups, plates and utensils. (Hint: see previous bullet item)
• Get a water filter to reduce use of bottled water: There are options for every budget, countertop, under sink or other.
• Bring a reusable water bottle to work: Some organizations are making filtered water available in their workplaces.
• Leave your trees up: Unless the tree is damaged and putting your home in danger, leave it be. Many people cut down trees to reduce yard work, which is understandable, but unhelpful.
• Donate to a nonprofit or charitable organization instead of buying gifts: A family member and I decided to donate to each other’s favorite charities from 2025 forward. Consider donating to organizations that are fighting injustices in climate and elsewhere and providing support after government budget cuts, such as NAACP LDF, OEFFA, Salvation Army, Climate Reality, or local food banks.
• And finally…Curb use of AI tools: Data centers are energy (carbon emissions) and water hogs. Uninstall the AI tools from your mobile phone and computer. Copilot and Gemini can be uninstalled. Avoid use of ChatGPT and similar tools. Block generative AI. Use online search engines like DuckDuckGo and Brave Search offer options where AI features are disabled by default, or can be turned off in browser settings. For example: I set the default search engine in Chrome by searching for “Search Engine”, then changing the default engine.

Contact us and share the steps you take to show your love to the Earth. We will publish them and credit you in a future post.

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ColorBlindWork | People. Plants. Purpose. has a strong background in technology, especially technology for efficiency. However, the environmental consequences of data center construction and operation has us showing NO love to #AI.