Earth Day; A Celebration of the Planet
Earth Day is coming up - a celebration of the planet we call home! This is a great day to reflect on everything our planet provides us and to t
hink about how we can give back to her to ensure a healthy future for all of Mother Earth's inhabitants.
Earth Day began in 1970 after Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed an oil spill in California and realized he could use the passion already present in the anti-war protests of the time to raise awareness on air and water pollution. Before 1970, there were few, if any, environmental regulations and the health of the environment was not on anyone's minds. Senator Nelson joined up with Congressman Pete McCloskey and organized a nationwide bipartisan movement that became Earth Day.
The original Earth Day protests fought against oil spills, factory pollution, untreated sewage, pesticides, and the loss of wild places and wildlife. These early days of environmental protests brought about the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.
Earth Day is just as important today as ever because we learn more about environmental problems every day, like climate change and the increasing amount of waste, and we need to spread awareness on solutions to good health for our planet.
The theme of this year's Earth Day is "End Plastic Pollution." This year, Earth Day Network is "dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics." Their website has an amazing toolkit with so much information on how plastic is rapidly accumulating across the planet. Some highlights of the toolkit are the effects plastics have on human health and how plastic ends up in the ocean, harms marine life, then ends up back in our food. My favorite thing I found on their website is the Plastic Pollution Calculator. It makes it easy to think about and track how much plastic I use on a daily basis. Then I can easily see how I can improve my plastic footprint. I have already spoken a lot about how to use less plastic in previous articles, but the main points Earth Day Network shares about this year's theme are 1.) Reduce your consumption of plastics by using viable alternatives. 2.) Properly recycle the plastic you use. 3.) Remove plastic that is already in the environment.
Earth Day is being celebrated all across the country; Broadway in New York is even going car free to celebrate, and I encourage you to find a local event. Other ways to participate are a beach clean-up, hiking, planting a native tree, contacting your lawmakers about issues important to you, like local water pollution and habitat loss, and just reflecting on Earth's natural beauty. But, most importantly, treat every day like Earth Day!
