Celebrating Our World on Earth Day
What You Can Do . . . To Protect Our Earth
Posted: 18-Apr-2003;
Updated: 25-Apr-2003
Earth Day is an opportunity to celebrate the gifts of the planet and to actively fight to protect it from harmful pollution and the abuse of its resources. Support conservation efforts by doing your part to help preserve our world's air, water and precious habitats.
Here are some suggestions on how you can participate in Earth Day activities near you, and what you can do to help make every day Earth Day.
Read about conservationist, scientist and author Aldo Leopold, best known as author of A Sand County Almanac. And learn more about other environmental heroes: Theodore Roosevelt, Rachel Carson and Gaylord Nelson.
What You Can Do to Enjoy the Earth:
- Be a wildlife voyeur The Dennis Puleston Osprey Fund's Osprey Cam offers a peek at a nesting osprey in Brookhaven, N.Y. You can also download plans for building your own osprey platform. Can't get away? View National Parks online! The National Parks Conservation Association's Destination Finder features an interactive database to locate national and state parks and recreational areas around the globe for in-depth travel information, photos and travel tips.
How You Can Help Give Back to the Earth:
- Recycling tips Cut down the household waste you throw away by composting, nature's way of recyling! Get more on recycling everything from plastic and glass to T.V.'s and cellphones on Green Adviser.
- Volunteer in your community The Zip code-based online service Volunteer Match helps link interested volunteers with organizations in their area. Search for environmental or public interest groups to find out which can use your talents and services.
- Shop at environmentally-friendly businesses Care2.com's Green Pages is a directory of eco-friendly stores and online sellers for home and garden products, pet care items and more. Green Home is an online store that only sells items meeting its stringent criteria for environmentally friendly standards. SafeClimate's shopping pages offer energy-saving items to cut electricity use.
- Plant a tree American's Forests' Global ReLeaf program encourages planting and caring for trees. They've taken their campaign around the world, and have passed the 20 million tree mark.
What You Can Do to Help Clean Up the Earth:
- Know your local toxins Scorecard.org is a source for free and easily accessible local environmental information. Simply type in a Zip code to find out about local air pollution sources, research health risks of pollutants, and explore state-of-the-art interactive maps for accurate information on toxic chemicals released by manufacturing facilities in your community.
- Find out about water hazards The annual roster of Most Endangered Rivers, from American Rivers, names the nation's most notorious polluted waterways and what can be done to restore them. Great American Cleanup Keep America Beautiful, the anti-litter organization that is celebrating its 50th anniversary, offers a state-by-state guide to organizations participating in its volunteer cleanup drive.
How You Can Help Protect the Earth:
- Use less energy You'll cut your electricity bill and help reduce greenhouse gases produced by power plants. Click here to find out how much can be saved. For more energy saving tips on the web, click here.
- Pollute less
By using mass transit and alternative modes of transportation like biking to work, you can help reduce unhealthy air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Garden without pesticides and fertilizers and keep our water clean. - Spread the word
Be a citizen co-sponsor of a landmark global warming bill - sign our petition! Inspire others to be stewards of the Earth and take action on the most critical environmental issues.
Need more hints? Visit Earth Day Network's
Events Calendar for a global database of happenings in your area.
Read about other Environmental Heroes:
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