Earth Day
Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22nd. In this article, Aylah Graves will discuss the history and significance behind Earth day and will highlight the ways people can celebrate.
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Earth Day
Earth Day
By Aylah Graves
By Aylah Graves
Every year, April 22 marks Earth Day. Earth Day began as a way to spread awareness and spark change during the modernized environmental movement, which began in the 1970s. While Earth Day is not a national holiday, it continues to be recognized and celebrated by many because of its significance.
Millions of people began to understand the negative impacts humanity has posed on our planet. They led marches, protests, and demonstrations in attempts to create new policies to better help the environment and reverse the damage. Celeste Robinson with the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center states, “The years that followed the first Earth Day many national environmental policies were passed including, The Clean Air Act, The Water Quality Improvement Act, The Endangered Species Act, The Toxic Substances Control Act, and The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.” This spark of environmental consciousness led to many positive changes --not only in policy, but also in the actions and beliefs of people all over the world.
Photo credit: Tetra Images/ Alamy
Celebrating Earth Day is important because it continues to spread awareness about the issues we face today. Issues such as climate change, deforestation, ocean acidification, air, water, land pollution and so many other harmful impacts of our societies. According to reports by the United Nations Environment Program,” In almost every region, population growth, rapid urbanization, rising levels of consumption, desertification, land degradation and climate change have combined to leave countries suffering from severe water scarcity. These worrying trends are also making it increasingly hard for the world to feed itself”. These problems are becoming more detrimental to the planet. Recognizing this and acting upon it will continue to help shift towards making a difference.
Photo Credit: Photo by Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images
While many of these issues we face cannot be so easily solved, we can all do our part to support positive changes. There are several ways people can celebrate Earth Day this year and make a better impact every day. One way can be to practice more sustainable fashion. Try donating clothes instead of tossing them away and think about buying second-hand when it is possible. According to Rose Davidson with National Geographic, “A plastic bottle sticks around for way longer—it can take over 450 years to break down…before you throw something away, think about whether it can be recycled or repurposed.” Another option can be to simply turn off lights and shut off the water when not in use. These practices may seem quite insignificant, but all of the minutes of waste can add up. People can also do their part by doing more research into local policies and becoming more involved and aware of the agendas regarding environmental conflicts.
Earth Day has now become a way to acknowledge the negative state of the planet and to celebrate its beauty. This day has become immensely critical to recognize so we can continue to support changes to move towards a healthier planet.
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