For better or for worse?
Jupiter Images
Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, we humans often find ourselves at odds with the natural world. Even when we have the most ostensibly benign intentions, we can still leave a deep, deep footprint. A fine example is a story sent to me a while back by Michael at Exit Stage Right. It seems a wannabe Romeo conjured up an uber-romantic way to propose to his gal while vacationing at Hilton Head, South Carolina. After placing dozens of glowing white cones of light—lit with candles, in the shape of a heart—on the darkened beach, he proposed to his girlfriend in this setting.
She said yes. The eco-system screamed no.
WATCH VIDEO: Protecting Our Oceans
Some background: Each year, from May to August, female loggerhead sea turtles gather on Hilton Head beach to lay their eggs in nests in the sand. Roughly 60 days later, the baby turtles emerge to make the dangerous walk back to the ocean. The hatching typically take place at night. This is why the annual "Lights Out for the Turtles" policy came into existence. The Town of Hilton Head Island "requires that lights on structures visible from the beach be shielded or turned off after 10 PM from May 1 to October 31. Any windows facing the beach must also be covered with draperies or shade screens."
Along came Casanova with his glowing white cones and his indecent proposal. Local resident Tom Skigen described what happened next:
"Approximately 60 hatchlings disoriented and that means they went everywhere but the ocean. They went back to the dunes, they got confused by the light on the beach at the times so they go in circular motion and eventually succumb to either crabs, birds, or simply exhaustion and die."
Obviously, Hilton Head's version of Don Juan had no intention to hurt anyone or anything but his gesture not only killed 60 turtles, it also served as an excellent reminder of how careful we all need to be when interacting with our delicate eco-system. Just a little research and/or snooping around could've prevented a tragedy. After all, there's nothing more romantic than someone with a big green heart.
Speaking of romance (in that facetious way I just was), more than 6,300 weddings take place each day in the U.S. (that's 2.3 million per year) and the average financial cost of an American wedding comes in at about $20,000. As for the average ecological cost, well...let's just say any day is nice day for a green wedding.
Three Ways to Green Your Wedding
1. Size Matters When you sit down to oft-dreaded task of creating an invitation list, remember: with each person you include, you add more miles traveled, more food consumed, a potentially bigger venue, and more waste when all is said and done. Why not worry less about a few ruffled feathers and more about setting a powerful eco-example?
2. Seek Green Resources For example, here are just a few of the questions you might consider: Can you encourage caterers to use organic produce? What is your dress made of? How was the gold in the rings mined? Did those tasty little gift bags of chocolate involve slave labor?
3. Green Registry Of course, the greenest choice of all is to forego gifts. However, since many couples need some help in stocking their eco-lives, why not choose a green registry? This not only affords you the opportunity to get a solar cooker or rain barrel, it also puts your guests in position to learn more about such choices.
