50 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day, Everyday

Editor: Today is Earth Day. The event is held each year on April 22nd. The event is held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day was  held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events; including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2024 is “Planet vs. Plastics.” With this theme the organization aims to reduce plastic dependency and make earth plastic free.

50 Ways To Invest In Our Planet

By Cate Rees-Hessel

Be a Friend to Our Home

There are several ways to make an investment in our planet, many of which have no financial cost or very little expenditure. In fact, being earth friendly can often save you money:

1. Plant a tree.
2. Organize a trash pick up on the side of the road, a vacant lot, or anywhere needing rid of refuse – check with local agencies for programs already in place.
3. Don’t litter – ever.
4. Organize a recycling event in your community.
5. Make sure to recycle your electronic devices. Not only does it take away from landfilled items, but it returns important metals like gold, platinum, and copper back to the manufacturing stream, cutting environmentally damaging mining and refining processes.
6. Watch Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and it’s sequel.
7. Some years back our church did a children’s musical and reception to educate the congregation about Earth Day – try something of this nature at your place of worship.
8. Read at least some of the many publications available about pollution (be it air, ground, water, light, or noise) and global warming/climate change.
9. Educate yourself with virtual or in person Earth Day events.
10. Reduce your use of paper – opt for on-device rather than on the physical page; recycle what you do use.
11. Join a free swap-type group, like Freecycle, Trash No More, etc., to extend item usefulness and stop them from going into landfills.
12. Opt for environmentally friendly cleaning products.
13. Use your local library to learn more about Mother Earth.
14. Use your library for books and magazines in general, too – they are reused much more, and many offer free online access to numerous magazines.
15. Many institutions offer a “library of things” – items like electronic devices or tools which can literally be borrowed, saving you cost and promoting reuse.
16. Chose farm-to-table food items and buy from local farmers to cut down on fuel use and emissions from shipping.
17. Shop sustainably: invest in sustainable, reusable items or ones that will last longer – ideally both.
18. Don’t waste resources: for example, turn the water off when brushing your teeth or shaving unless you are actually rinsing.
19. Turn out the light(s) in an unoccupied room, even if you’re going to be gone a little while, and opt for LED bulbs for much more efficiency (less power used, more money saved).
20. Keep your car running efficiently to avoid harmful emissions and save on gas.
21. Consider an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid.
22. Support the use of sustainable energy, such as solar, wind power, geothermal, and the like.
23. Always take your own bags to the grocery store.
24. Use environmentally friendly household products such as paper towel or bathroom tissue – look for green items where you shop whenever possible.
25. Chose Earth friendly items when remodeling your home, like sustainable materials such as bamboo, or other responsibly-sourced lumber.
26. When choosing cosmetic items such as sun screen, chose environmentally friendly companies and ingredients, as well as cruelty free items.
27. Biodegradable balloons are available for your next party/event, or choose another sustainable, environmentally friendly form of celebration items.
28. Avoid lawn products that are toxic, not just for the planet but for pets and wildlife.
29. Wear eco friendly clothing and use eco friendly linens.
30. Shop at thrift or consignment stores – they have many items for any budget; it’s a great way to reuse and save money.
31. Take military showers – use a shower head with a shutoff and cut the water between initial wetting and rinsing.
32. A bath can be more green than showering if you take very long showers, but showers in general are best.
33. Use eco friendly bath products.
34. Put a brick or other water saver in your toilet tank, and invest in a low flow shower head.
35. Consider bar soap or shampoos, and recycle any plastic soap, shampoo, or conditioner containers. Use zero waste or near zero waste grooming products that are sustainable.
36. Take a nature walk with your children or pet – remember to leave nothing but footprints, and take nothing but pictures and memories.
37. Take a quiz to ascertain your carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it.
38. Save energy in your home, like turning down or up (depending on the season) your thermostat.
39. Walk, bike, or car pool, whenever possible.
40. Go ahead and hug that tree – you know you want to.
41. Avoid excessive use of aerosols or other potentially environment damaging products.
42. Remember Woodsy the Owl? Give a hoot – don’t pollute.
43. Plant flowers and other local variant plants, avoiding non-native species which can drain environmental resources or harm animals.
44. Start a community vegetable garden.
45. Plant an herb garden.
46. Put fresh mushrooms on your grocery list of sustainable foods.
47. Add avocados and bananas to your sustainable fruit and veggies basket.
48. Create a pretty terrarium.
49. Post Earth friendly tips on social media.
50. Make each day an Earth Day.

There isn’t a plan(et) B, so start making more informed, environmentally better choices today…