You didn’t think I’d forget about Earth Week did you? (Although, can we possibly cram more into the April/May time-frame?)

First, some events you might want to know about:

• UNLV’s Department of Environmental Studies is hostingits 15th annual Earth Day event 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow (April 22) on the Academic Mall. It’s free and open to kids. Nate Tannenbaum will be hosting an award ceremony at 11 a.m.
• On Saturday (April 25), a big celebration is planned at the Springs Preserve called What on Earth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be Earth Day Olympics, a scavenger hunt, special tours, live entertainment and great information on water conservation in the desert. Admission is free, with standard ticket prices to museums and galleries. (Considering that we’re projected to have the water level in Lake Mead drop even further this year, it’s never been a better time to figure out ways to conserve.)

For those of you who share my feelings about plastic shopping bags, you’ll be glad to know that SB397 passed out of committee and is now on the Senate floor. Sponsored by Sen. Maggie Carlton, the bill would ban all plastic shopping bags that are not biodegradable within four years. It creates a user fee on non-biodegradable bags which will pay for a fund to clean-up litter. It’s still got an up-hill fight, but the progress is encouraging.

And you know there’s never been a better time than right now to calculate your carbon footprint and make some positive changes in your life.

Loyal readers know that the environment has always been a core issue here at The Sin City Siren. In honor of The Siren’s upcoming 2-year anniversary (May 6), here’s a couple oldies but goodies on the issue:

• The first Siren rant on plastic bags, including some good factoids.
• The Siren’s 10 Easy Tips to Save the Environment and Money.
• Don’t forget to check the Eco Stuffsection (located at the top of the site) for many, many other good tips, links and assorted eco-goods.