This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, which started as rallies held in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Today, over 1 billion people in over 190 countries are involved in Earth Day activities!
How you can celebrate Earth Day EVERY day!
- Get a recyclable water bottle
- The US alone consumes 50 BILLION plastic water bottles annually, with most not even being recycled! Just creating these bottles uses 17 million barrels of gasoline, which is enough to power 1.3 million cars for a year.
- Plant a garden
- Make energy efficient tweaks to your home!
- Homes consume a LOT of energy for heating and electric, so much in fact that 40% of energy that is consumed in the US is from residential and commercial buildings Some things you can do to improve your house’s energy efficiency that both helps the environment AND saves you money in the long run are:
- Improve your home’s insulation
- Make the switch to LED lights
- Getting a water heater
- Become a more conscious grocery shopper
- Make the switch to reusable grocery bags! You’re using less plastic and they’re sturdier than the flimsy bags you get at the store.
- Pay online!
- If everyone in the US started dealing with making their payments online by using credit cards and EFTs, it would save almost 19 million trees every year. It would also save some gas, since the post office wouldn’t have to deliver your statements and payments.
- Plant a tree!
- A classic but awesome Earth Day activity – there’s no time like Earth Day to make your world a little greener, literally!
- Volunteer!
- If you want to contribute your time, you can go to the Environmental Protection Agency website for events and volunteer opportunities, and you’ll find a list of Earth Day activities near you. Some of the events are even kid friendly!