Earth Day

Earth day was created by Gaylord Nelson in 1970. He was hoping to inspire and increase public awareness of environmental problems in response to a massive oil spill off of the coast of California. 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day. Throughout the years, Earth Day has sparked an unprecedented amount of environmental legislation in its 50 years.

In 1970 Congress creates Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA is responsible for creating laws and standards to protect the health of individuals and the environment. In 1990 Earth Day went international and helped pave the way to the United Nations Earth Summit. In the 90ś recycling efforts and programs became common worldwide. In the years 2000 to 2010 Global Warming was the focus and with the help of the internet lawmakers, activists, Presidents and celebrities got the message out to over 200 million people that our planet needed change. 2015 The Paris Agreement was signed by the USA and China plus 120 other countries which will aim to strengthen the global response from Climate Change and Global Warming.

Today Earth Day will mark 50 years of global activism to help save our planet.

Earth Day inspires people throughout the world to take action and fight global warming and climate change.Here are some simple things that you and your family can do to make a personal impact and heal mother Earth. Run, bike, and hike.

A 2015 study by the institute for Transportation and development concluded that an increase in cycling worldwide could cut emissions by 11% by 2050. Riding helps reduce pollution, gasoline consumption, and emissions.

• Plant a tree and a garden. A single tree will absorb 1 ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.Gardening helps reduce pollution by taking in the carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Growing your own herbs, fruits, and vegetables reduces your carbon footprint. Planting your own garden provides cleaner groundwater. Plants help filter the chemicals from the water in the ground.
• Switch to energy efficient light bulbs.Replacing one regular light bulb with an energy saving light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Reduce your heating and cooling by 15% by buying a programmable thermostat and setting your temperature 2 degrees up or down.
• Reduce hot water consumption. Hot water uses a great amount of energy. Take shorter, cooler showers. Wash clothes in cool or warm water instead of hot. Select shorter cycles on all appliances and save 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
• Recycle clothes and accessories. Most clothing is derived from natural sources and are biodegradable. Recycling means less in landfills and less use of raw materials.
• Switch to reusable bags. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year which requires 12 million barrels of oil to produce. Plastic bags cause major problems for landfills and wildlife.
• Replace plastic water bottles with a refillable glass water bottle. Annual consumption of single use plastic bottles is set to top half a trillion by 2021 clogging landfills and oceans and is accelerating climate change.
• Upgrade to newer appliances. Look for the Energy Star Label which was established to reduce greenhouse gas and emissions by inefficient use of energy.
• Recycle and compost. A family of 4 can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of their household waste. Recycling helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy consumption..Reduce food waste. 40% of food is wasted in the US. Food waste is a growing problem for farms, eateries, and institutions. Change to meatless meals and eat less beef which is responsible for high emissions.
• Drive less. You can save 1 pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you do not drive. Every gallon of gas saved by obeying the speed limit and keeping your tires properly inflated keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. A typical passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Buy a new car. Up your fuel economy .Upgrading your mpg by 20 mpg can save 4500 gallons of gas. Purchase an electric car, they emit less greenhouse gases and save you money.
• Unsubscribe to catalogs. 100 million trees are processed each year to produce junk mail and catalogs.
• Pay your bills online and switch to online banking. Solid waste would be cut by 1.6 billion tons a year if every US household switched to paying bills online. This could save an estimated 18.5 million trees a year.

The challenges facing our planet can seem overwhelming but we all can do something to fight against global warming and climate change. Join us to heal our planet.