![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081107111822im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Earth Day Info
What is Earth Day ? 
Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide. Earth Day was first launched as an environmental awareness event in the United States in 1970, and is now celebrated as the birth of the environmental movement.
The first Earth Day involved 20 million participants in teach-ins that addressed decades of environmental pollution. The event inspired the US Congress to pass clean air and clean water acts, and to establish the Environmental Protection Agency to research and monitor environmental issues and enforce environmental laws. Today we continue to push for a safer, cleaner environment. Earth Day is celebrated all over the world in recognition of the progress we have made and in recognition of environmental issues that still need to be addressed.
Earth Day with EPA
Communities continue to celebrate Earth Day by participating in activities to solve such global issues as air pollution, soil contamination, and global warming. The message of environmental responsibility will be reinforced through the activities and events associated with Earth Day. EPA is dedicated to working with communities to promote environmental responsibility on Earth Day and everyday. Please choose from the links below to see details about Earth Day efforts in your community:
Earth Day Activities"Earth Day is to remind each person of his right and the equal right of each person to the use of this global home and at the same time the equal responsibility of each person to preserve and improve the Earth and the quality of life thereon."
- proclamation for the City and County of San Francisco designating Earth Day, 1970.
Help celebrate the 29th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, 1999 by taking part in activities listed below:
- Conserve gasoline by using public transportation, sharing rides, riding your bike and walking.
- Recycle cans, glass, paper, cardboard, oil and batteries. Recycle clothes and furniture you no longer need by donating them to people who can use them.
- Save electricity by turning off lights and putting lids on pots. Avoid using plastic and styrofoam by toting groceries in reusable bags and by using a reusable mug to carry drinks.
- Conserve water by taking showers instead of baths, by placing a weighted plastic bottle in the toilet tank, by using front-loading washing machines and by not running water unnecessarily.
- Decrease ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere by choosing aerosols, insulation, and fire extinguishers that are free of CFCs.
- Avoid using toxic insecticides or fertilizers in your home, in your garden, or on your lawn. Instead, use organic solutions to control pests.
- Reduce organic waste by freezing leftovers for soups and stews, by cooking more accurate portions and by composting the remains.
- Write to manufacturers to complain about wasteful packaging, disposable items, and other earth-un-friendly practices.
- Vote for candidates who vow to protect the environment and hold them to their word by monitoring their voting records and by writing to them about your concerns.
- Join an organization that actively seeks environmental justice.
Earth Day Book Titles:
Please check your local library or book store for the following books about Earth Day:
After Earth Day: Continuing the Conservation Effort, edited by Max Oelschlaeger.
A Big Book for Our Planet, written by Ann Durell and Jean Craighead George, edited by Katherine Paterson.
A Collection of Voices: The Dawn of Global Awareness As Expressed in the Letters to Earth Day 1990, written by Peter Wright.
Celebrating Earth Day: A Sourcebook of Activities and Experiments, written by Robert Gardner and illustrated by Sharon Lane Holm.
Cleanup Catastrophe! (The Secret World of Alex Mack), written by Cathy East Dubowski.
Conservation, written by Robert R. Ingpen with contributions from Margaret Dunkle.
Day and Night (Simple Science), written by Maria Gordon and illustrated by Mike Gordon.
Earth Day, written by Linda Lowery.
Earth Day Every Day (We Can Save the Earth), written by Jill Wheeler.
Earth Day Lessons from Planet Mars, written by Sandra Frank-Mosenson.
Hands Around Lincoln School, written by Frank Asch.
The People Who Hugged the Trees: An Environmental Folk Tale, written by Deborah Lee Rose and illustrated by Birgitta Saflund.
1001 Ideas for Science Projects on the Environment, written by Marion A. Brisk.