Did you know that April 22 is Earth Day, and has been every year since it was first celebrated in 1970?
Earth Day was the creation of Gaylord Nelson who, as a Wisconsin Senator in the late 1960s, said, “Our soil, our water, and our air are becoming more polluted every day. Our most priceless natural resources – trees, lakes, rivers, wildlife habitats, scenic landscapes – are being destroyed. How are we going to get the nation to wake up and pay attention to the most important challenge the human specifies faces on the planet?”
Nelson’s wake-up call was that first Earth Day, and 20 million people in the U.S., Canada and other countries participated in activities demonstrating their interest in the environment. Today Earth Day is observed in more than 140 countries with rallies, speakers and parades, and individuals or groups planting trees, picking up roadside trash, and conducting programs about recycling and conservation. You can check out activities at www.epa.gov/earthday, www.earthday.ca and other Web sites, and celebrate Earth Day every day by practicing the five Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replenish and Restore. Here are just a few ideas:
Replace your standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Carpool or take public transit – even once a week will make a difference.
Call companies that are sending you unwanted catalogues and cancel them.
Find out where to recycle your old electronics – cell phones, computers, MP3s – and set a date to do it.
Take shorter showers, and run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
Love your planet on Earth Day – and every day!
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