Taylor Diehl, Freshman
Every day we are creating an impact with our carbon footprint and making irreversible changes to our Earth. April 22 has been dedicated to creating solutions to combat, prevent, and help heal our Earth since 1970. Our daily tasks contribute to our carbon footprint, leaving a forever-lasting effect on our Earth. When we do tasks that lead to the emissions of carbon dioxide or C02, this is inevitably leading to our personal carbon footprint. This is why we have made such a long-lasting impact on the Earth! For the past 50 years, every April 22 has been dedicated to promoting positive changes for our home planet Earth.
Originating in Paris, France in 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson developed a plan to force change around the Earth before it was too late. Nelson was inspired by the Vietnam protest of 1960 to voice his opinion and become a major activist in our history! On the first-ever Earth Day to be celebrated in 1970, over 20 million Americans joined together to celebrate! Since then, every year on April 22, over 192 countries have come together to celebrate and create everlasting change. Earth Day, also known as International Mother Earth Day in many countries, is a day meant to spread awareness and honor what we have! Our personal impacts on the Earth are slowly destroying what we have, but luckily there are ways that you as an individual can forge a positive change moving forward.
This year, Earth Day will host many online activities due to COVID-19. Despite the setback, there are still many things you can do to show your support! Here are the top ten things you can do to celebrate Earth Day this year, next year, and every day to make a long-lasting impact!
Plant a garden or start your own plant collection: Creating your own garden is a great way to aid the environment in many different ways! One main outcome is that you can grow your own plants and food. This will create less waste, since you won't always have to go out to buy them! You are also creating a habitat for animals to live in.
Start a Compost Bin: Composting is an easy way to reuse and dispose of your waste! Composting is just one simple way that you can help the environment in your own backyard!
Donate: There are many organizations that accept donations as well! With people’s donations, it provides the funds for them to be able to do more, like planting more trees and offering ways to inform people about what is happening and how they can get involved.
Educate yourself: Educating yourself is a great way to celebrate Earth Day this year and move forward! There are so many interesting facts to learn about, and it will help you know ways to help! By educating yourself, you are creating a way that you will be able to help educate others and spread awareness.
Spread awareness: Spreading awareness is something that you can do from your own home! By creating even just a post on social media or sharing something that you found, it may just inspire others to do the same, which will continue a trend of self-education.
Plant trees: Restoring our Earth is something that will take thousands of years, but if we start now by doing tasks like planting trees, we will be able to re-oxidize the Earth and create habitats for the animals.
Pickup liter: A great way to help restore the environment is to pick up items that you notice don’t belong. Every year on average, 1 million animals are killed due to pollution, so if we took the time to help keep our Earth clean, we can protect the life that lives on it!
Reduce, reuse, and recycle: Reusing previous materials is also a great way to cut down on the production of excess products. A simple way to do this would be to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones when going out shopping.
Transportation methods: One of the main things that contribute to our carbon footprint is our emissions of fossil fuels. A way to cut back on this would be to consider taking public transportation or biking/walking. If you were to do any of these, it would result in a cutback emitted gas, and over time result in fewer carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
Use more environmentally friendly products: Many of the products we use daily, such as cleaning products, and much more use unnatural chemicals. A great way to cut back on these harmful chemicals would be to switch to an eco-friendly option! Grove Collaborative and Common Good are two popular options that are great alternatives.
These are just a few of the ways that you can make a difference for our Earth, so get out and spread the word for a cleaner Earth!
Works Cited
22, Andrea WurzburgerApril, and Andrea Wurzburger. “Today's the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: What Is Earth Day and Why Do We Celebrate?” PEOPLE.com, 22 Apr. 2020, people.com/human-interest/what-is-earth-day-and-why-do-we-celebrate/.
C., Carla. “What Are the Environmental Benefits of Growing Your Own Food?” Triangle Pest Control, 18 Jan. 2021, www.trianglepest.com/blog/what-are-environmental-benefits-growing-your-own-food#:~:text=By growing your own garden, and natural fertilizers and products.
“EPA History: Earth Day.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Apr. 2021, www.epa.gov/history/epa-history-earth-day#:~:text=In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord, U.S. cities, and it worked!
Guide, Staff. “10 Natural & Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products For The Conscious Home.” The Good Trade, The Good Trade, 21 Apr. 2021, www.thegoodtrade.com/features/natural-eco-friendly-cleaning-products-for-the-conscious-home.
Old Farmer's Almanac. “Earth Day 2021.” Old Farmer's Almanac, www.almanac.com/content/earth-day-date-activities-history.
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