As we zoom through traffic, rushing to meet deadlines and expectations, let's not lose sight of our fragile, beautiful Island surroundings. As Earth Day approaches on Tuesday, it's time to take action to reduce our carbon emissions and produce less waste. Green methods are becoming easier to access, with recycling posts in many neighborhoods, cash incentives on compact fluorescent light bulbs and cash back for recycling grocery bags. Start by pledging to reduce your use of one item, such as plastic bags, disposable coffee cups or water bottles. And why not carpool, or shop your community farmers market?

Learn about local programs and events at www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org. Visit www.envhonolulu.org for recycling redemption center information. Eat local food; visit www.hfbf.org for information on the farmers market nearest you. Start making a difference for a lifetime.

— Lacy Matsumoto.

ARTAFTERDARK GOES RAW, GLOBAL

With only recycled materials to work with, local artists will present live installations amid a swirl of raw world music, conga beats and acoustic melody at Friday's "Conserve eARTh" ARTafterDARK.

Artists (and thirtyninehotel partners) Richard Earl Leong Yu Ralya and Gelareh Khoie, along with the trio of Newkon, Koak and That Guy Shaun, will be challenged to create pieces that reflect Earth Day, while a zip tour at the Museum Learning Center will offer viewers a glimpse at the painstaking work Bhutanese monks put into creating and restoring the sacred and powerful thangkas on display at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Aside from the art, visitors can chill in a geodome made with used milk cartons, kick back to the acoustic sounds of The Rising Melody or listen to conga beats from percussionist Eli and raw world sounds spun by Italian DJ Silvana.

Food and drink will be provided by E&O Trading Co., using local and/or sustainable ingredients. Chef Nick Salvi will offer buttery shiro maguro with citrus basil sauce, chicken soba noodle salad and Kahuku shrimp in a roasted chili and cilantro dipping sauce, while mixologist Joey Gottesman will feature a special cocktail mixing tomato juice with spirulina and organic Ocean vodka.

The three-hour event, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, is free for academy members and $10 for everyone else; www.artafterdark.com.

— Treena Shapiro.

HAPPENING

SAVED BY THE BELL

What do De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls and Zack Morris have in common? Beside being answers to a '90s trivia contest, the old-school hip-hop music and pretty-boy icon come together at Illmatic, a Chinatown monthly held the last Thursday of each month. (The party's name comes from the very first Nas album, a high point of hip-hop released in 1994.)

And speaking of music of the '90s, Chris Kam, also known as DJ Delve1der, above, is one of the few disc jockeys who still spin vinyl. "I'll be playing some Bell Biv DeVoe, De La Soul, Groove Theory, you know, the best of the '90s — that's me," says Kam, who has been buying records since 1989, and began DJing publicly in 1993. "I'm very confident about what I do," he says.

And OK, it's not the actual Zack Morris from "Saved By The Bell," but Zack Morris the DJ, also known as Aaron Sakai.

Illmatic, 9 p.m. Thursday, NextDoor, 43 N. Hotel St.; $10, 548-6398.

— L.M..

SALES & BARGAINS