Green Living by Janet Marchant: Greening Your Friday the 13th

Every time Friday the 13th comes around, people start talking about superstition. Now, if you're like me, you're not the least bit superstitious. As a committed environmentalist, I like to back up all of my beliefs with hard science. For those who aren't familiar with the scientific process, it goes something like this: I have a feeling about something, and I look for a piece of "science" to back it up. Any science that agrees with my ideas is known as "hard science." On the other hand, when I stumble on evidence that contradicts my gut feelings, that's what we call "soft science," meaning that it's as insubstantial as a drop of dew in the hard light of real science, and will soon evaporate, literally vanishing from existence.

So, now that we all understand how science works, you'll be glad to know that it can help counteract the unlucky qualities that we all know are so plentiful in Fridays that happen to fall on the 13th day of any month. Friday the 13th is the sort of day when you would expect some misfortune like breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder and ending up with a bucket of chemical-filled paint on your head, or having a black cat cross your path. If something like that does happen to you today, just be prepared with some eco-friendly good luck precautions.

For example, recycling the glass from a broken mirror will save 50% of the energy that would have been used to manufacture completely new glass, so instead of seven years of bad luck, you should expect only 3 1/2 years. As for that black cat, try a quick rinse with a safe, non-chlorine bleach, being careful to keep it away from sensitive parts like the ears, eyes and tail. Before you know it, you'll be crossing paths with a delightful grey, or even white kitty cat who's also squeaky clean, and not bad luck at all.


See? All it takes is a little creative science, and you too can turn simple superstition into something that's lucky for you, and lucky for the environment!