Growing concerns about pollution, climate change, and other environmental issues have caused many people to start thinking about their relationship with and impact on the environment. The conversations around these issues have felt like a relatively new concern for many people, especially young people, despite being ongoing motivators for many forms of political action, including the creation of earth day.
The creation of Earth day is widely considered to be the start of the modern environmentalist movement. The holiday was created by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson who was inspired by anti-war protests to create a teach-in at some college campuses about environmental issues. This quickly gained a lot of popularity and media attention and the first Earth day in 1970 was filled with protests for better environmental protection. The day eventually inspires the creation of several laws including the Clean Air Act as well as the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Today some people still use Earth Day as a way of honoring what work has been done and calling for more action to be taken. However, after a survey, we conducted we found that 100% of our respondents don’t do anything in honor of Earth day. It seems that 50 years later Earth day seems less like an opportunity to make a change and more like another one of those arbitrary holidays in the same vein as national hotdog day. It seems that many people don’t know of Earth Day’s history and how they can continue to celebrate it. I’ve created a list of things you can do this Earth day:
Have a completely meatless or vegan day: While becoming vegan full-time is a challenging commitment for many doing it for just a day is pretty simple and can give you ideas on how you can cut back on your meat consumption. If you’re unsure about why cutting back on meat is beneficial you can learn more by reading this article or watching the documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.
Buy a reusable water bottle, grocery bag, or utensils: These items are things you use every day, taking the time to invest in the more sustainable option will not only be helpful for a long time in reducing the amount of waste you produce. There are also many cute and stylish options available online including ones made from recycled materials.
Take public transit, ride a bike, or walk instead of drive: We all know driving a gas-powered car pollutes and if you have a chance today is a great day to go without one. Taking public transit, biking, or walking are also great ways to connect with your communities in ways you might not be able to from behind the wheel.
Plant a new plant in your garden or buy a new house plant: Not only do plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere but taking care of one is a great way to remind yourself of your connection to nature when it’s otherwise easy to forget about it.
Go for a hike or nature walk: Similarly to taking care of plants this is another great way to appreciate the beauty of this earth and can be incredibly relaxing.
Feed the birds in your area: Setting up a bird feeder or birdbath is a small thing you can do that brings so much life to your backyard. It is yet another way to remind yourself of the beauty we share this planet with.
Turn off lights, unplug unnecessary electronics, and shorten your showers: Leaving these things on or plugged in when not in use contributes to the waste of electricity often powered by coal plants and other pollutants. Today you can take an extra 3 minutes to turn off lights and make sure you don’t leave things plugged in when they don't have to be.
Make sure to recycle: While seemingly obvious it doesn’t hurt to mention that recycling, as well as avoiding littering and picking up any trash you see on the ground is a good habit to be practicing, and Earth day is a perfect day to start.
Shop from local stores and farmers' markets: Shipping food and other products across the country creates a lot of unnecessary pollution. If you have the option, shopping local is a fantastic way to cut back on this pollution as well as support your community.
Research and donate to organizations working towards environmental protection: One of the best things you can do this Earth day is donate time or money to organizations fighting for change. The sunrise movement is a personal favorite that works with young people to fight for environmental justice. You can learn more about their work and how you can help or just make a donation at their website.
While many of these individual actions can make small changes and help you feel like you’re making an effort to be more sustainable, real change won’t happen with individual action alone. That’s why it’s so important to work with these organizations and call for political change, after all, Earth day started with protests, and keeping that legacy alive is important. If we can make enough noise we can get action and inspire others to make change, like they did in 1970. It’s essential that we work together because building a better planet will benefit us all, including the endangered species :).
If you want to learn more about Earth day and it's history this is a great resource.
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