Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22 and first began in 1970. Environmental concerns continue to make headlines in the news. More than ever, there is a call to action. Increased awareness has taught us that as time continues to pass, the Earth continues to change in response to human activity. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in honor of the holiday, it seemed important to discuss how we can make a positive impact on the Earth. As the great Maya Angelou said, “I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
So how did this increasingly important day get its start?
We can attribute Earth Day to the hard work of many individuals, most famously Rachel Carson, Senator Gaylord Nelson, and Denis Hayes. Carson’s book Silent Springs and her work on environmental issues inspired others to get involved and eventually led to the movement that brought about Earth Day. Senator Nelson. horrified by the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 and the Cuyahoga River Fire the same year, knew he must do something to stop the destruction of the planet. He enlisted the help of Denis Hayes, who took a year off from school, to plan the massive celebration. More than 20 million people across the country took place in demonstrations and protests, sit-ins and teach-ins, that aimed to show the world how important it was to make changes that would help protect our planet.
After that, the idea took off! The Ladies Auxiliary believes it’s important to celebrate Earth Day, but it’s even more important to treat EVERY day as if it’s Earth Day. We are charged with the monumental task of protecting this amazing world and it’s going to take more than one day to do it! We’ve compiled a list of some ways you can make a positive impact on the environment. Check out our ideas below!
Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Nowadays, most communities have a recycling program. Be sure to follow all the rules and regulations when using your town’s bins. This will ensure that your items are actually being recycled. Check out Earth911 for a lot of good recycling information, if you’re looking to make your impact even bigger!
Recycling is great, but we can make an even bigger impact by focusing first on reducing and reusing. Find new ways to re-purpose the things you are going to recycle before they end up in bin! Think about ways to reuse jars and milk jugs, plastic bags, and boxes. One of the things the Ladies talked about that we want to do is REDUCE the amount of trash and recycling we create. You can do this is SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
- Use reusable shopping bags anytime you go out. Especially at the grocery store!
- Get everyone a lunchbox instead of using brown bags, plastic bags or buying lunch out.
- Look for items at the store with the least amount of packaging.
- Buy local produce from Farmer’s Markets and roadside stands. Not only will this help reduce waste, but it reduces pollution because there’s no transportation and shipping of the food!
- Use tupperware and reusable containers for food instead of plastic baggies.
- Composting – this one takes a little bit of research BUT if you can reduce your food waste and compost, this could make a big difference!
- Skip the plastic straws – carry your own metal straw with you, or skip the straws altogether when you go to fast food places, restaurants, or Starbucks.
Now, let’s talk water. Laundry. Dishes. Personal Hygiene. Drinking. The amount of water an average family of four uses in a month is an astounding 12,000 gallons! The less water you use in your home, the less water that will end up as waste water or runoff that will eventually end up in the oceans. You can conserve water by…
- Shortening shower times – Carrie has been doing this! Use a timer to track how long your showers are, and then try to reduce the length of time you spend in the shower. Installing a new, environmentally friendly shower-head will reduce the amount of water you waste, and still help maintain great water pressure. If you have kiddos, or take a bath, consider filling the tub up less than you usually do, or turning the faucet on and off as you rinse!
- Speaking of turning the faucet off…don’t leave it running while you brush your teeth, wash dishes in the sink, or wash your face. The average faucet pours out three gallons of water PER MINUTE so this tiny habit can save A LOT of water.
- Skip the bottled water – This is one that many of us are not good at. Buy a Brita water pitcher or install a faucet filter. Then, use a refillable water bottle. Nicole’s favorite is her glass bottle from BKR. Check them out here !
Another important way to help the environment is to reduce the amount of chemicals we use in our homes and at work. Look for cleaners that are plant-based, or environmentally friendly. Choose cleaners that are non-toxic. Nowadays, you can find tons of recipes on the internet for DIY detergents and cleaners, made usually from products you have at home. These can save money and reduce the amount of toxins that are flushed into our water systems.
You can save electricity by unplugging appliances, like the toaster or your cell phone chargers, when you aren’t using them. Don’t plug in your cell phone until it’s absolutely necessary. Turn off lights when you leave a room. If you have a device like a Google Home or Amazon Alexa, you can put your lights on a timer. Taking shorter showers saves electricity too. Not many people we know like taking cold showers. Hot showers require your water heater to run which uses electricity. Shorter showers mean less hot water, which leads to less electricity used. Also, pay attention to that thermostat! Adjusting your thermostat by just two or three degrees can conserve a lot of energy. Open (or close) your windows and use the blinds to help manage airflow, or keep a room shady and cool.
The laundry room is another place you can do A LOT to help the Earth…
- Reduce the number of laundry loads you do. Now this is something we can all get behind. Consider re-wearing those hoodies, sweaters, jackets, and jeans at least more than one time without washing them. As long as they’re clean (and smell okay) why not wait to wash them? This will save water and time! In addition, try to make sure you have a full load before you dump your clothes in the washer. This could save up to 3,400 gallons of water a year!
- Washers using hot water pose the same problem as long hot showers. Try switching just a couple loads a week to cold water and you’ll catch even more energy savings.
- Hang or line dry your clothes and blankets. Reducing the amount of clothing you put in the dryer will cut down on the number of times you have to run it. Make sure the dryer is full, and be sure to set it to the recommended drying time. This will prevent it from running longer than necessary.
- Put a dry towel in the dryer with your wet clothes. This helps speed up the drying process, saving energy again!
There are so many ways to help that are simple and easy to do. You can find endless resources and ideas online. Instagram has tons of accounts dedicated to decreasing your negative environmental impact. If this doesn’t seem like enough to you, we encourage you to also get involved in your local communities. Search out ways to help make the area you live in cleaner, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly. We hope you are as inspired as we are! If you have any more tips, be sure to share them with us!
The Ladies Auxiliary 