April 22 is Earth Day, which is an annual event celebrated by the people around the world to demonstrate their support for environmental protection. 

In the 1970s, massive production and sales of automobiles caused Americans to consume vast amounts of leaded gas. Big industries belched out smoke with little fear of its consequences from either the law or press. Air pollution was common during the time. Majority of Americans remained largely unaware of environmental concerns and how different pollution could threaten human health. 

People’s perspective changed with the publication of Silent Spring in 1962 by conservationist writer Rachel Carson. The book especially focused on the threats of DDT to not only animals and plants but also to human beings. The book rapidly became a bestseller and was sold more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries as it raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, environment, and associations between pollution and public health. 

Senator Gaylord Nelson had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment of the United States. After witnessing the massive oil spill in California in 1969 and the student anti-war protests regarding the Vietnam War, Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student-led protests with an emerging public consciousness towards air and water pollution. He gathered his supporters and started teach-ins on college campuses to the national media. 

Denis Hayes, one of the members of the campus teach-ins, built a national staff of 85 recognizing its potential to inspire all Americans. The effort soon broadened to include a wide range of organizations and groups of people. They changed the name to Earth Day, which immediately caught the national media attention. Earth Day inspired about 20 million Americans to take to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of about 150 years of industrial development, which left a huge legacy of serious human health impacts. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. 

Groups that had been fighting against other environmental issues united on Earth Day around shared common values. Earth Day 1970 enlisted its support from various groups: Republicans and Democrats, the rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, and business and labor leaders.

By the end of 1970, creation of Earth Day led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of other environmental laws such as Clean Air Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act, and a year after that Congress passed the Endangered Species Act soon followed with Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws successfully protected millions of men, women, and children from disease and death. They had also protected hundreds of species from extinction. 

As 1990 approached, a group of environmentalists gathered on Denis Hayes to once again organize another campaign for the planet, and it went global this time. Earth Day 1990 mobilized 200 million people in 141 countries and gave a huge boost to recycling efforts around the world. It also helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit. Senator Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest honor given to civilians in the United States - by President Clinton for his role as Earth Day founder. 

In 2000, Hayes agreed to organize another campaign which focused on global warming and push towards clean energy. Earth Day 2000 built both global and local conversations, using the power of the Internet to organize environmental activists around the world. 

In 2010, Earth Day came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community to combat the cynicism of climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, and a disinterested public. Nevertheless, Earth Day prevailed and EARTHDAY.ORG re-established Earth Day as a major moment for global action for the environment. Over the decades, the website has brought hundreds of millions of people into the environmental movement and created opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism in 193 countries. 

Today, Earth Day is widely recognized in the world and marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national, and local policy changes. 

February 14 is Valentine’s Day when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts.  Valentine’s Day traditions have also expanded over time to not only giving gifts to one’s lovers but also to one’s relatives, family, or friends. While the intention of expressing one’s affection on Valentine's Day is the same around the world, different traditions in different countries make the gifts and expressions unique. 

Denmark’s Valentine tradition can be defined into two things: white flowers and guessing games. On Valentine’s Day, people exchange white flowers called “snowdrops” with each other. Sending their crushes so called “joke letters” is also another tradition for Danish people on Valentine’s Day. The recipient has to guess the sender of the letter, which is usually signed only with dots. When the recipient guesses the sender correctly, the sender owes the recipient a chocolate Easter egg later in the spring.

Germany’s Valentine's tradition is related to pigs; although one could think of receiving a chocolate pig for Valentine’s Day as an insult, Germans do not think the same way. In Germany, actually, pigs represent luck and lust. For Germans, it is traditional to exchange pig-themed gifts with one’s loves. In addition, Germans also celebrate the holiday by giving one’s loves big, heart-shaped ginger cookies usually with messages written on them.

In Ghana, February 14 is National Chocolate Day. Various events are held around the country to promote their top agricultural export, the cocoa bean.

In Estonia, February 14 is called “Sobrapaev,” which means “Friendship Day.” Instead of a day for lovers to show and express their affections towards each other, it is a day to celebrate all kinds of friendships. 

In Taiwan, girls are expected to receive flowers from their admirers. However, the color and number of flowers contains different messages. Red roses, for example, have the secret message “you’re my one and only.” Ninety-nine roses mean “I will love you forever,” and one hundred and eight roses mean “Will you marry me?”

Valentine’s Day was initially meant to express and celebrate affections between lovers, but it has gradually expanded into celebrating and expressing all kinds of feelings and emotions to all kinds of different relationships. People around the world celebrate the holiday with different traditions, but they still have the same intent: to express one’s affection toward their loved ones.

Indian #3: Mrs. Ratzlaff

1. If you can describe yourself in two or three words, what would they be?

   • “Energetic, purple and gold lovin’ lady, math lovin’ lady.”

2. What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies?

   • “Sports and I always like to binge watch Netflix and sleep.”

3. Where did you go to college?

   • “Georgia Tech, West Georgia, and LaGrange College.”

4. What is your favorite movie?

   • “Probably ‘Greece’”.

5. Besides the United States, what is your favorite country?

   • “I’ve never been out of the country, so I would say my favorite country would be Australia because of the animals.”

6. What is your favorite food during Thanksgiving?

   • “Most definitely homemade macaroni and cheese!”

7. If you had the opportunity to replace the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions for every NFL Thanksgiving game, what teams would you choose?

   • “Steelers and Falcons”

8. What is your ideal weather setting?

   • “Seventies”

9. What is your favorite flavor of coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, what is your favorite autumn beverage?

   • “French vanilla coffee”

10. If Georgia Tech was forced to relocate from the ACC, where would you want them to go besides the SEC?

    • “Probably Independent. For rivals: Georgia, Ohio State, and Stanford.”

Indian #1: Mrs. Cornwell, Jessica

If you can describe yourself in two or three words, what would they be?

“Fortunate to be teaching; happy.

What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies?

“I love to read. I spend a lot of time reading.”

Where did you go to college?

“I went to different colleges. I got my Bachelor’s degree at the University of South Florida, I got my Master’s degree at Saint Leo College (University), and the University of West Georgia to earn a Specialist Degree.”

What is your favorite movie?

“Probably ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.”

Besides the United States, what is your favorite country?

“Mexico”

What is your favorite thing about Halloween?

“The creativity that people put into their costumes. I love seeing different costumes every year.”

What is your favorite season of the year and why?

“Summer”

What made you want to become a teacher?

“I had a really bad teacher and I wanted to do so much better than that one person.”

What is your favorite candy and why?

“I think Swedish Fish because I don’t like chocolate.”

What is your favorite book of all time?

“‘Mice and Men’ because I like the ‘ah ha!’ moments my students get.”

Indian #3: Mrs. Cox, Karen

If you can describe yourself in two or three words, what would they be?

“Optimistic, encouraging, and hard-working.”

What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies?

“Quilting, reading, genealogy, and hiking.”

Where did you go to college?

“For my undergraduate degree, I went to Georgia College and State University; as for my Master’s degree, I went to LaGrange College.

What is your favorite movie?

“The Sound of Music”

Besides the United States, what is your favorite country?

“Austria because my father’s mother was genetically Austrian.”

What is your favorite thing about Halloween?

“Being able to see everyone having fun and enjoying themselves.”

What is your favorite season of the year and why?

“Fall is my favorite season of the year because I love the leaves and I like that it’s cooling off, and it’s a great time to go hiking.”

What made you want to become a teacher?

“My 6th grade teacher was a very caring, compassionate, sweet person, and she was the one who influenced me the most.”

What is your favorite candy and why?

“Any candy bar with dark chocolate almonds.”

After teaching your previous Food for Life classes, which lab would you consider to be your favorite?

“The choose-your-own ramen recipe was probably the best lab out of all of my classes; also the Christmas cookies lab.”

Mrs. Kelly Jackson returned this year to ECHS. She left the school in 2018 as a sponsor for Key Club, which provides service opportunities that help students plug into the school and community in a meaningful way. 

Mrs. Jackson was the sponsor for Key Club in 2015, but at that time the club was inactive. Her own children were active as K-kids in their elementary school, and she wanted them to have join the Key Club once they got in high school. She back then co-sponsored with Mr. Robbins, and when he moved schools, Mrs. Foulks helped her as a new sponsor. 

She tried to get students involved in the school and community. She says that “our motto was that Key Club is only as active as the students and what they invest.” However, she left ECHS three years later and moved to Newnan High School in order to be near her oldest children, but still she made great contacts in the community. 

Mrs. Jackson says that she was excited to return to ECHS this year. She says, “I was excited to return to ECHS this fall. I also was thrilled to hear that the school needed a sponsor for Key Club.” She still has a great affection for the club. Mrs. Jackson loves to partner with a variety of groups so that students can realize those services can be an integral part of everyday lives which makes an impact on the world around us. She says that “I believe that we each are given daily opportunities to have a positive impact on the people we encounter and that Key Club can provide new ways to serve our school, town, and community.”

Mrs. Jackson is looking forward to students taking advantage of those opportunities to get involved into the club and community this year. Key Club has set a goal for each member to earn 30 hours of community service this year and be involved in seven to eight monthly required projects. She adds, “I look forward to watching as students grow in their commitment to service."

Indian #2: Mr. Matthew Cline 

If you can describe yourself in two or three words, what would they be?

“Probably tired; I can have some actual answer, but that came to mind.”

What is/are your favorite hobby/hobbies?

“Just reading.”

Where did you go to college?

“I went to Georgia Tech.”

What is your favorite movie?

“The Parent Trap”

Besides the United States, what is your favorite country?

“I’m gonna go with Canada because the colder weather beats Georgia’s cold weather anyday,”

How do you feel about autumn (fall)?

“Best season, hands down!”

What is your favorite music genre?

“Indie pop”

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

“For everyone to have equal access to their needs no matter where they were born.”

What makes you unique as a person?

“I’m okay with laughing at my jokes more than other people.”

What are your hopes for Georgia Tech football this year?

“To win a few games, but lose enough to fire Geoff Collins.”