Earth Day comes around once a year and it is a day that is dedicated to helping make the environment better. This year marks the 48th anniversary of Earth Day. The first ever Earth Day was marked on April 22nd, 1970 by the United States Senator Gaylord Nelson. Senator Nelson was bothered by the fact that the importance of the environment was talked about so little when it came to politics. This led him to hold the first ever Earth Day.
It was a celebrated nationwide day and it was estimated that at least 20 million people took part in this day with festivities and demonstrations of a healthy and sustainable environment.
In the 1970’s the environment was not such a vital concern. Not many people were paying attention to the ozone layer, green house effect, oil spills, raw sewage, toxic dumps, power plants, pesticides and so many more issues. However, Senator Nelson took inspiration from the anti-war movement that was taking place during that time and after seeing the impact of the massive oil spill of 1969 in Santa Barbara, CA, he decided to take action.
This course of action brought together Republicans and Democrats, the rich and the poor and many more adverse group combinations in support of Earth Day.
The first Earth Day of 1970 led to the formation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency which took place on December 2nd, 1970. This agency helped to pass the Clean Air, Clean Water and even the Endangered Species Acts. All formed and specialized to assist in making the environment cleaner, better, sustainable and healthier to live in for all.
Now we fast forward 48 years into 2018 and the support of Earth Day has amplified. The Earth Day website (www.earthday.org) reported that there are around 5,000 environmental groups worldwide in about 184 countries, in a combined effort all of the groups reaching out to hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.
Every year, when Earth Day comes around, men, women, and children young and old alike come together to collect garbage, clean up parks and beaches, recycle, plant trees, and begin to create plans to better our planet for themselves and for future generations.
Here are just a few ways you can participate in Earth Day and continue to help the environment all year round:
- Recycle, recycle, recycle!
- Limit the use of your vehicle. If you can avoid driving, try it. Ride your bike, walk or car pool.
- Switch to e-statements instead of getting mailed statements.
- Plant trees.
- Volunteer your time to an organization.
- Find alternatives to drinking bottled water.
- Think reusable instead of disposable.
- Fix any water leaks in your home.
- Educate yourself about the environment.
- Encourage and teach others what you know and how to further help our environment.
Your commitment to help with the environment does not have to happen only on Earth Day, keep it going! Make some of the things listed into a habit and watch the difference you make. Small changes can lead to big differences.