Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Today marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement so I thought I'd share a little more information about today.

In 1970 when gas was leaded, all cars were V8s, and there weren't as many environmental laws regulating industry, air pollution was a common occurrence. Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest to force the issue onto the national agenda. So, on April 22, 1970, 20 million people came out to streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate. There were coast-to-coast rallies, organized protests on the campuses of thousands of colleges and universities.

Earth Day 1970 garnered support from people from all sides, regardless of political affiliation, home or job. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Wow, it's amazing what can be accomplished when people work together for a common goal.

I try to do my part. I recycle. Actually, here in Germany, they make it very easy to recycle and those that don't are the exceptions to the rule. We have separate buckets for glass, paper, aluminum, plastic and biodegradable stuff. I try to conserve gas and use public transportation when possible. In my little town, it's very accessible for walking or bicycling so unless I'm going long distances, I don't take the car out of the garage. I'm sure there is more that I could be doing, so I'll be going here to pick 5 things that I can do to help save our environment.

What do you think? Will you also Pick 5?