Happy belated Earth Day! Yesterday, the annual event celebrated its 45th anniversary as millions of people worldwide participated in this “national teach-in on the environment”. Since its inception, Earth Day has spurred key movements to improve the quality of life on Earth, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Water Act. Earlier this week, we held a giveaway contest for people to share their Earth Day stories, and here we compiled some of our favorite stories and tips from MOVA fans and interested enthusiasts:
Thinking of the Earth
“I have spent the last ten years of my life working at environmental education camps, teaching kids about the world around them. I believe the first step in taking care of our world is to generate appreciation and wonder. Instead of pedantically repeating mandates to kids, or trying to scare or guilt them into taking steps to help the environment, I try to explain what all the things they hear daily mean for them, personally. ” (Jen Cole – winner of our Earth Day contest)
“I feel a responsibility to the planet that gave me life, and I believe animals have every right to live on it as much as humans. I have adopted both an elephant and a tiger by giving to the WWF; they are both endangered of becoming extinct. I don’t want to live in a world without them, and I don’t think future generations should be robbed of these wondrous creatures.” (Christian Davis)
“Any and everything one person can be reasonably expected to [give to the Earth]–I drive calmer, I turn off lights not in use, I recycle, I turn the thermostat a little further up or down, I skip a shower once a week to save water, I re-use boxes and other consumables in different ways, I drive fuel-efficient cars; and throughout, I use creativity to live for a better Earth.” (Stephen Bristow)
“I’m teaching my grandchildren and their friends how important and fragile our Earth really is. I tell them about global warming and explain how it affects the weather changes they have seen. I impress upon them the need for recycling, using products that don’t pollute our biosphere, trying to use only sustainable resources and spreading the word to others. I tell them that they will be stewards of the Earth in the future and that all must do their part; the effort is everyone’s.” (Irene Menge)
Earth Day At Home
“I am planting native species. Therefore I am expressing appreciation for my bioregion and am seeking to live in harmony with it. Planting natives invites the local insects and pollinators back to my area, which in turn brings the birds and animals. Planting natives is a way of saying thank-you to my place.” (Donna Cohen)
“We grow and buy organic vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries and bananas. We compost our leaves and coffee grounds in our garden to fertilize them. We use natural pest control mixtures for bugs in our home and yard. We all do Coastal Clean-Up every Spring at our nearby beaches.” (Stacy Giacosa-Bauer)
“Recycling everything I can from our home and have reduced trash in half, I have trained the whole family to make sure they have sorted everything. We have a system using giant bins in our garage. We sometimes are very competitive about who is the best at this.” (Jeanette Schroeder)
Earth Day Outside
“We are helping our son’s scout troop learn about recycling and also about picking up litter. Even if it is not yours you can do your part by cleaning it up. We spent over 8 hours cleaning up the church property where our troop meets.” (Sarah Graff)
“I give back to the Earth by taking my car to the car wash when it’s dirty, instead of washing it at home. Not only do car washes use recycled water, but washing cars at home sweeps gas, oil, antifreeze, and other toxic substances into our streams, poisoning frogs, fish and other living creatures.” (Dave Taube)
“As part of my commitment to the Earth I analyzed the paper waste that was going on at my school and found it to be over 100,000 pieces of paper a year! I submitted a proposal to the sustainability office of our school and subsequently won a challenge related to sustainability on campus. We are now working with our school to implement a plan that will dramatically reduce paper waste and increase recycling in our program!” (Kourosh Zakeri)
(Source: LitterAction)
Although this year’s Earth Day has ended, we believe that Earth Day should be celebrated every day. As you can see from these stories, giving back to the Earth runs the full gambit of initiatives, from organizing clean-ups, to keeping wild animals in mind, to simply growing vegetables in your garden. There is always an action you can take, and we find that the best source for taking action is being inspired by the community. How did you celebrate Earth Day? Were you inspired by any of these stories? Let us know in the comments.
In addition to our contest, we also exhibited MOVA Globes at the San Diego EarthFair.
