Earth Day

Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the fashion industry is too ugly to imitate, especially if it fits into a trendy theme.Well known as the sandal of choice among the tofu-and-bean-sprout crowd, the humble Birkenstock sandal has a wanna-be. Kinney Shoes has introduced the Colorado sandal, a leather and buckled-strap shoe that's "comfortably chic and environmentally sound for the '90s."If you're still feeling a bit far from the roots of the environmental movement, or maybe you missed Earth Day entirely, it's time to put something on your chest another Earth-friendly T-shirt.

When the first Earth Day was held 25 years ago, these college students weren't even born. Yesterday, they participated in a Towson rally to kick off next month's silver anniversary of environmental efforts."

TOMORROW is Earth Day 2000. I'm going to eat a salad from Fresh Fields. I'm going to eat a salami sandwich, but with sprouts. I'm going to wash my car in the rain. I'm going to mulch everything, even my children. I'm going to glare menacingly at people driving expensive, oversized, gas-guzzling SUVs -- and that includes members of my immediate family. I'm going to make a party mix from Wheat Chex and recycle the box. Instead of watching "The Ten Commandments" on video and wasting electricity, I'm going to have Joey Amalfitano come over and act the whole thing out; Joey knows all the parts and all the lines.

Organizations in Carroll will celebrate Earth Day over the next week with a variety of events."In Carroll County, Earth Day is stretched to more than a day, or month, but has become an awareness that lasts all year," said Melinda Byrd, the county's nature center administrator.She noted that the county's nature centers offer more than 600 programs each year."While the Earth Day festivals are great fun and educational, the day-to-day tree plantings, stream cleanups and programs on nature and the environment are really the driving force toward a healthier environment."

Take public transportation. Carpool. Recycle. Those suggestions are given by people and organizations stressing the preservation of the environment, but people don't always pay attention to them until April 22 rolls around. That day -- Earth Day -- was created in 1970 to help improve the environment and create awareness of problems, such as global warming, that would eventually become a concern for future generations. Now, those threats are real, and it is more important than ever to be educated about the small things that can be done to help create a more stable environment.

Quiet Waters Park in Hillsmere will have an Earth Day celebration this weekend, with a park open house on Saturday (no entrance fee), with hands-on activities for children, environmental exhibits, a high-quality yard sale of "recycled treasures," and a concert.On Sunday, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom host Jim Fowler will present "Birds of Prey" and "Animals of the Rain Forest." There also will be a 5K run and an art reception.For further information and schedule details, call the park, 222-1777.

WEST FRIENDSHIP Elementary School was empty yesterday.In celebration of Earth Day, the pupils -- kindergarten through grade five -- traveled to Nixon's Farm for environmental studies.Students and teachers (including afternoon kindergartners, who came in the morning yesterday for the event) boarded 11 buses for the ride to the farm. Nixon's Farm, on Nixon's Farm Lane, off Route 32 in West Friendship, is the second oldest minority-owned business in Maryland.L It is also West Friendship Elementary's educational partner.

On the first Earth Day in 1970, environmentalists threw down the gauntlet saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." If you can at least answer half of these questions correctly, consider yourself environmentally literate and part of the solution.1. In 1950, 30 percent of the Earth's land was covered with tropical rain forests. Today, how much remains?a) 27 percentb) 17 percentc) 10 percentd) 7 percent2. Who took EPA agents hostage in 1980 to draw attention to Love Canal and is now an activist in Washington?

While most Earth Day celebrations involve planting trees and reveling in nature, a pair of festivals in Baltimore this weekend focus on the environmental concerns of minorities living in urban neighborhoods.Originally, only one minority-oriented Earth Day festival was planned. But a split among organizers of the event prompted creation of a second celebration, and the division of about $70,000 in federal grants awarded to finance the event.The first festival, called a "Black Earth Day" by its creator, offers three days of activities, with the main events beginning at noon tomorrow at Sojourner-Douglass College at 501 N. Caroline St. Workshops on inner-city gardening, vegetarian foods and reggae and Hispanic music are planned.

Serving her final year as Mount Airy's Earth Day Committee chairwoman, Pam Brewer hopes to leave the group with two things: goals and money.Ms. Brewer and Ron Shreve, a fellow Earth Day Committee member, last night persuaded the Town Council to allocate $400 for printing of T-shirts for a 10-kilometer race fund-raiser, planned for April 25, the day after Earth Day."We think it's a great idea," Ms. Brewer said. "We need money up front for T-shirts. Of course, if you run in a race you get a T-shirt.