Earth Day has become a widely celebrated annual environmental event, and each year it is celebrated on April 22nd. Conveniently, Earth Day this year falls on a Saturday, giving us an even greater reason to take a break from classwork and enjoy the outdoors. Earth Day began with the United Nations designating the 22nd of April as the “International Mother Earth Day” in 1970. The importance of Earth Day is to recognize the uniqueness and exceptional biodiversity our Earth possesses. On this day, global communities, groups, and individuals conduct activities to understand this biodiversity and the ways that we can protect our environment.
In today’s economy and technology driven society, there are many environmental concerns that we need to be aware of. Earth Day promotes awareness for environmental issues and demonstrates support for environmental protection. Some Earth Day activities include cleaning up litter, convincing people to buy green products, educating about the harmful effects of global warming, and educating the public to conserve rather than consume. As a result of successful Earth Day awareness, various policy agreements and acts have been authorized such as the Clear Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act.
There are various small steps you can take, as a college student, to become more environmentally aware each day. Some of these are;
1. Use reusable water bottles
2.Recycle in your dorm or apartment
3. Power down any electronics or lights when not in use
4. Buy less clothing or borrow from a friend
5. Decrease meat consumption
6. Walk or bike more often
7. Think about how much water you use
8. Only take what you can eat at the dining hall
9. Wear clothes more than once before washing
10. Become more involved with your environment!
April is a stressful time of the year, as the end of the second semester is creeping up, so take a break in between the dartying, studying, working, or whatever you’re doing to get educated on the environment that YOU are a part of and make a positive change!