Acts of Green

Earth Day is Friday, April 22!  How will you contribute?

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside to teach and inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment.  It’s also a call to action to encourage participation in activities to help restore the Earth’s beauty and minimize the negative impacts affecting our planet and communities.

The theme for Earth Day 2011 is “A Billion Acts of Green®.”    According to www.earthday.org,   this theme represents a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy.  In order for the campaign to achieve its goal, it’s going to take all of us pitching in to help, and it’s much easier than you may think and doesn’t require attendance at a large Earth Day event or membership in a “Green” organization.  The simplest acts make a difference—especially if a billion people do it!

Here are a few easy ideas that you can do to contribute to Earth Day and every day:

• Pick up litter.  It’s everywhere.
• Recycle. Recycle. Recycle.
• Rake leaves and plant flowers or shrubs in your neighborhood and public areas.
• Unplug all your appliances and chargers when not in use.
• Stop with the plastic bags already! Instead, replace them with reusable shopping bags.

To purchase yours, check out www.onebagatatime.com.

• Commit to not turning on the TV—try it a couple of evenings per week and watch your productivity rate go way up.
• Use energy efficient light bulbs and appliances—and watch your electric bills go way down.
• Paint a park bench.
• Clean graffiti off of a building or bridge.
• Start a compost pile.  It’s a natural fertilizer for all the flowers and shrubs planted in honor of Earth Day!
• Carpool. With gas prices so high, that should be an easy one.
• Donate money to your favorite green cause.
• Visit www.terrapass.com, a website that calculates your annual carbon footprint and gives you the dollar amount, based on the calculation, needed to offset your footprint.  The funds are then used to support projects proven to reduce carbon emissions. Check it out.  It’s a fun, easy way to contribute.

If you would like to participate in Earth Day events, check your local newspaper or search the Web to see what is planned in your town.  You may even consider hosting your own neighborhood or office cleanup event.  Whether big or small, just do something.  It feels good to contribute, and if you want your action to be counted as one of the billion acts of green, visit the Earth Day website— www.earthday.org.   Happy Earth Day 2011!