Greater Milwaukee Men

Wisconsin Senator Gaylor Nelson created Earth Day back in 1970 On Earth Day - every April 22 - is a day for activism and awareness on environmental issues celebrated worldwide, celebration being the keyword where we observe and honor the earth and the environment in festive ways compared to regular activities that can often be seen as a more serious or even adversarial by the movement. When we think of the environmental movement and states that are at the forefront we may think of California, Colorado, or even Oregon. But did you know that Earth Day was started by a Wisconsinite: Wisconsin then-Senator and former state Governor Gaylord Nelson ? Through the work of Nelson and others, Wisconsin actually has a strong presence in environmentalism and being a leader in the celebration and protection of our world. We usually stay away from politics at Greater Milwaukee Men, honoring all men of all walks of life that are doing great thing, but on this and each Earth Day, we would d...

In efforts to reduce our impact on the environment, by using less to make things and discarding less things, we have all become accustomed to the phrase " reduce, reuse, recycle " which is sometimes referred to as the three Rs (much like the old "reading, 'rtitng, 'rithmetic of education). It just hit me though that there is another R missing - one for Repair. I guess semantically repairing could be considered part of Reusing, but to me Repair is a more personal, immediate, and active process than reusing which typically means that someone else is doing the using now instead of you. Reusing usually implies passing the item on so someone else can and will use it versus you re-using it, or using it for a different purpose - what is often called 'upcycling' these days. It could also have been left out of the program because whoever developed it thought it was a common practice, or inherently understood. But let's take a look at what makes Repair it...