Every Day is Earth Day

April 22 marks Earth Day. Every year, many students, not just those who attend John A. Ferguson, become aware of this fact and participate in ways to help volunteer and provide a cleaner Earth. But why is this movement incredibly important today?

Throughout America’s history, there have been major environmental phases. One pivotal phase was during the 60s to 70s where the growth of support towards environmental causes grew. After the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, it led Senator Nelson, the California senator at the time, to create a day dedicated to building ecological awareness.

The importance of this event is that it sparked several countries worldwide to participate. Becoming a global event, it spread and gained recognition. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. It developed into an annual event and has been celebrated since.

The amazing part of this movement is that it is an official holiday. About more than a hundred countries celebrate it along with Americans, uniting passionate and sincere people together. Many of them are students in schools, colleges, and universities, where they engage in these environmental events.

Finding these similarities and fighting for a cause leads to a strong empowered group of people, not conforming to the stereotype of a “treehugger”. The majority of them take notice of the issues the Earth is facing due to unsustainable human practices and take action. Mainly, Earth Day creates awareness and eco-consciousness. It also reminds legislation to pass stricter environmental laws and deals.

However, spreading recognizing environmental issues one day a year is great but many forget the matter after. With the increase of climate change, little action can cause detrimental effects to our planet.

In the United States, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released is one of the highest among other countries. It creates air pollution and increases the probability of sea level rise, a problem already happening in Miami Beach

. Climate change also disturbs natural wildlife and other organisms inhabiting Earth. Lack of sustainability is leading to a depletion of our natural resources and altering temperatures.

Some people believe that the local and state government should take action into their community’s environmental and propose creative solutions to solve these problems. There have also been national actions.

In 2016, Obama signed the United States on the Paris Treaty but Trump revoked this action about a year later. There was also the Green New Deal which said that America would target not just environmental issues, but social ones too. It didn’t get passed.

Some ways that citizens can take action is through reusing items. Selling or renting books, for example, creating less waste on our environment. Using plastic straws not only creates this problem, but it also affects wildlife.

Another action that can be taken is eating healthier options once in a while. The consumption of meat consistently, adds methane into the atmosphere and wastes energy. Some options are to eat non-GMO foods. Not using plastic products is great as well.

An alternative is using paper products, which are most likely biodegradable. Finally, volunteering. Volunteering in and creating environmental projects helps the local community. It keeps areas clean and shows that humans can still take care of our environment.