Making A Difference On Earth Day

Today is officially Earth Day! This day was first celebrated 43 years ago, today events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental awareness and, for some action. All of this was started with two individuals who were so impassioned by the desire to make a difference in preserving our environment, that they took action themselves.

U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, from Wisconsin, is usually credited with conceiving the idea for the first Earth Day celebration in the United States, but he wasn't the only person to come up with a similar idea at about the same time. John McConnell was coming up with a similar notion, but on a global scale.  While attending the UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969, McConnell proposed the idea of a global holiday called Earth Day, an annual observance to remind people worldwide of their shared responsibility as environmental stewards and their common need to preserve Earth's natural resources.  Meanwhile Senator Nelson asked Denis Hayes, a student attending the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, to organize the first Earth Day. Working with a staff of volunteers, Hayes put together an agenda of environmental events that drew 20 million Americans to join together in celebration of the Earth on April 22, 1970. Mc Connell approached the UN with the
concept of Earth Day as global holiday to be celebrated on the first day of spring because it symbolized renewal. McConnell's proposal was eventually accepted by the United Nations 1971. Since then Earth Day has been officially celebrated globally on April 22.

From global to national, regional and personal it is an opportunity to renew our commitment as responsible stewards of the earth. Individually we can adopt a greener lifestyle, and share our ideas and concerns about the environment. One person can make a difference, as demonstrated by the actions of Gaylord Nelson, John McConnell. Each of us has the power through our daily
decisions and lifestyle choices to make our homes and communities more environmentally friendly. If each of us choose to recycle those plastic food containers, imagine how that could multiply into a significant difference. Here are a few things that each of us can do to help make a difference.

•  Eat Locally Grown Food
•  Change a incandescent light bulb to LED or CFL (save money too!)
•  Shop with reusable shopping bags
•  Bike or walk to a nearby destination
•  Make sure your car is running efficiently
•  Get a free Home Energy Audit
•  Add insulation to your attic
•  Buy energy efficient products
•  Turn down the heat at night and while away from home

 

Finally, this may seem really basic however planting a single tree will make a significant difference, that one tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. Now that's making a difference!

 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -  Margaret Mead