We'll let you in on a little secret. When we celebrated the first anniversary of this trailblazing project we christened 24/7, we credited our first 12 issues to beginner's luck. When we made it to our second anniversary, we shrugged our shoulders and said it was just a fluke. It had to be. When 24/7's third anniversary came knocking, we thought to ourselves, are we going to be around for our fourth? And as the fourth just came crashing in out of nowhere (at least that's how we all felt), we were telling ourselves, please let us just get to our fifth birthday and maybe we can rest on our laurels. So now the dreaded fifth is finally upon us and we're looking out the office window and saying: hey, we're kind of getting the hang of things. So we're now slapping our backs, clapping our hands, kicking up a storm and saying we'll surely be around for our sixth anniversary and perhaps, even our 60th. Hopefully, we'll all still be around by then and maybe look back and ask ourselves why on earth, we got all worried sick about getting past our first in the first place. All this we owe to those who egged us on, supported us and believed in our vision, no matter how crazy an idea it seemed at the onset.

On this our fifth anniversary issue, we focus on our favorite advocacy— saving the earth. With the spiraling cost of fuel, more citizens are becoming green-minded and are now looking into conserving whatever is left of our planet. We came up with five lists of easy, non-painful ways to preserve our earth and enjoy its fruits. Here are our favorites:

24/7 TIPS FOR ECOLOGICAL LIVING

1. Don't dump. Donate old clothes, books and toys to the local parish or hospital or foundations like Caritas Foundation [T: 527-4163 / 527-4147/ 527-4134] who can pick up all kinds of junk and used items from your location. Dispose of old mobile phones and their batteries to the manufacturers or through the recycling bins at Glorietta Mall. Sell your items at Ayala Foundation's recyclable fairs held regularly from 8 am to 3 pm at the Paseo de Magallanes on Aug. 1 and every first Friday, Goldcrest Parking lot on Aug. 8 and every second Friday, Alabang Town Center parking lot on Aug. 15 and every third Friday, TriNoma Open Carpark on Aug. 22 and every fourth Friday. At Bonifacio Global City , Taguig on Sept. 13 and Nov. 8, and Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Oct. 25 , the schedule is bi-monthly or quarterly. For details, call 752-1084, email swm@ayalafoundation.org or check out http://www.ayalaland.com.ph/article_archive/ayala_recyclables_fair.

2. Go organic with organic stalls at weekend markets such as the Salcedo Village Saturday Market, The Sunday Organic Market in Legaspi Village Park , both in Makati City and The Hills in Corinthian Gardens in Pasig City . Dine at organic-friendly restaurants such as the newly opened The Healthy Kitchen in Serendra, and Green Daisy [ 20 Maginhawa St., UP Village, Quezon City T: 922-2409, (0917) 814-8262].

3. Shop with a conscience. Limit the purchase of disposable items like party ware, diapers, plastic bags, batteries. Don't buy products made with shark's skin, tortoise shell, ivory, Shahtoosh, and in some cases, reptile skin which are taken from endangered animals.

4. Make something fun for the environment with your friends and family. Support activities like the Clean Up the Philippines National Campaign, held in conjunction with the international Clean Up the World campaign on September 16, 2008. During this campaign, Supervoice will present its original “Agaw Buhay,” a free comedic dance musical about segregation and recycling. For details, call 692-3148 or (0917) 801-3248.

5. Conserve. Water, electricity, gas, paper and most everything else. The world's resources are not limitless. ‘Nuff said.

THE 24/7 TEAM