Earth Day

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This significant day has a very sad origin. In 1969 the people of the United States woke up to the news that the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was on fire. The water was so polluted with the chemical dumping of factories upriver that one day, it just caught fire. It was featured on national newspapers and whole magazine editions were dedicated to it. Interestingly, all the pictures that were shown on newspapers and magazines of that time were false; they were not real pictures of the 1969 Cuyahoga fire.

The truth was that it wasn’t the first time this happened, the Cuyahoga had already burned once before, in 1952. Those pictures were the ones featured on the media because in 1969 no pictures of that fire. Nonetheless, the first environmentalists were already fighting for people to start paying attention to the environment and what human pollution was doing the world we lived in. A river on fire was the poster child for demands for change not just on river pollution but our stance on pollution, period.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and since that year 191 other countries have joined the United States in celebrating it. I am a child of the 70s and I remember helping to plant trees on that day, and giving plants to teachers and others. It was, and is, a very symbolic thing.

It has evolved over the years. I feel guilty in admitting that, many years, Earth Day has come and gone with me just making a mental note when reading it on the news “oh, it was Earth Day”, followed by some wistful thoughts at the things I could have done. This year I propose to do differently.

For starters I am writing this blog entry because I hope that in reading it you will be inspired, right along with me, into doing something. Because Earth Day is in TWO days, on April 22. Here are some ideas on how to make a difference.

Say it

Yes, say Happy Earth Day to other people. Instead of hello, good morning, thank you, say “Happy Earth Day” to people throughout the day. Make others aware of what day it is. Many will make that mental note and forget, but one out of many may remember and do something. And it’s that one person, like you, that matters.

And you can start early. Put a small auto-signature to your emails and text messages that reads “Remember that April 22 is Earth Day”. Tweet it today, or tomorrow. Share it on Facebook, tell your children, or your parents, or anyone around you. Remind others. Say it, because the more who know, the more difference it will make.

Park it

If at all possible, avoid driving. Talk to coworkers; see if you can hook up a quick car pool. Pull out the bicycle, tune it, and ride it. Take public transportation. Your 10-mile drive to work may seem like a very small pollutant but let me bring you back down to earth. Every gallon of gasoline your car burns adds 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the environment (here's the source); 22.38 pounds if you drive a diesel. If you need a metric conversion, this means that for every liter of gasoline you create 2.37 kilos of CO2, and 2.69 kilos if you drive with diesel. 6 pounds of precious gasoline (the actual weight of a gallon of gasoline) become more than triple their weight in air pollution, how scary is that? Please, think of this, and find a way.

Unplug It

I mentioned it in my last blog post, but for different reasons: turn things off, and unplug others. Computers, appliances that you aren’t using, turn them off and do not leave them on standby mode. Unplug chargers when not using them, they keep consuming at the same rate as when you charge your phones and tablets. And watch your air conditioning and heating at night and when you go out. You can tone them down. These measures not only save you money in energy costs, by reducing your energy consumption you help the environment, immensely.

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