Written by: Hailey Peckat, Program Manager Fitness at SPS Tower | Advantage Health
Did you know April 22 is Earth Day? Earth day is celebrated internationally; a unified day around the world to demonstrate support for protection of our environment. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. Originally promoted by Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, over 20 million people throughout elementary and primary schools, universities and communities around the world attended events to fight for protection of the environment. As of 2020, Earth day was considered the largest civic observance in the world, brining together 1 billion people each year.
Earth Day is also known as the “great global cleanup.” The main initiatives of Earth Day include reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, preventing harm to wildlife and humans, and removing billions of trash from all around the world. Some ways this is completed is through state committees and organizations that enforce state and federal guidelines regarding the earth. These look different for each state; for Minnesota specifically, this would be The MN DNR, MN Department of Health, and MN Pollution Control Agency.
So how can YOU make a difference? I have gathered a couple tasks that you can do to benefit the earth. First, discover your plastic footprint. This can be done easily. Completing this gives you an idea (it was shocking to me!) of how much plastic you use on a regular basis. A few simple things to keep in mind to reduce your plastic waste would be to utilize reusable water bottles or invest in some reusable Ziploc bags. You may be familiar with the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle. These alone are great! However, add three more R’s: remove, refuse, and rally. Take charge of picking up your neighborhood (remove,) say no to needing a straw at a restaurant (refuse) and call local and state politicians to urge the ban single use plastics (rally). Some of these may not seem like a big deal but those little steps add up quick!
Sources:
(n.d.). Retrieved from US Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/
(n.d.). Retrieved from Growing the Movement Since 1970: https://www.earthday.org/actions/act-on-plastic-pollution/
Earth Day. (n.d.). Retrieved from Today In History: https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/april-22/#:~:text=Earth%20Day%20was%20first%20observed,sites%20across%20the%20United%20States.
The 6 R'S of Plastic Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.earthday.org/actions/act-on-plastic-pollution
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