What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is on Monday, April 22, 2024, and the official theme for this year is “Planet vs. Plastics.” Eek, plastics... In my opinion, this should be everyone’s theme every day of every year.
How did Earth Day start?
As usual, it has a history, and here is the basic scoop:
The first day celebrating the Earth was in the United States on March 21, 1970, purposefully on the first day of spring. It was to honor the Earth and the concept of peace.
A month later, on April 22, 1970, a U.S. Senator proposed a campus teach-in day and called it Earth Day. This really started the movement (and even led to the creation of the U.S. EPA - Environmental Protection Agency).
In 1990, one of the original Earth Day coordinators started Earth Day events internationally.
What are we supposed to do on Earth Day?
Earth Day is a day of environmental activism. We should consider the following activities to be a part of the movement:
Educate ourselves
Share our education with others (volunteer, make others aware)
Take action (ex. plant a tree, start limiting plastic usage, etc.)
My Participation
I have joined the Earth Day movement - both philosophically and technically by signing up on earthday.org. My participation in the movement includes the below.
I continue to educate myself on various sustainability topics (it's never-ending!). Writing this blog helps with that education.
And I hope by sharing my blog I am making you more aware of different sustainability concerns. Is it working?
As I learn more, I also naturally take more action. Hello compost container in the freezer.
My shop of eco-friendly materials is another way I try and share my education with others. You do have choices when shopping, and there are more and more eco-friendly and sustainable shops coming into existence. Stop buying new plastic!
Your Next Steps
You may have Earth Day events in your town or city, so keep your eyes out so you can participate. Or, set aside some time on your own schedule to do something nice for the planet through environmental education, awareness, and action.
World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5, is a similar event organized by the United Nations.
How will you participate in the movement? Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know!
Be sure to check out earthday.org.
And so you can look the part (and spread awareness with no work), buy some of our environmentalism apparel in the shop.
