Saturday January 03, 2009
Earth Day
History
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See also:Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 of every year since 1970. For the inaugural Earth Day, nearly two thousand colleges and universities, ten thousand high schools and grade schools, and several thousand communities participated in events across the country with an estimated 20 million people sharing in the activities. Observance of Earth Day was spearheaded by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. He was concerned that not enough was being done by Congress about the environment. So, he helped organize a major grassroots effort to show that people were willing to support such a cause. This ferver helped lead to federal legislation like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
What we can do 
A vast majority of Idahoans would place environment and natural resources among their highest priorities. Improving environmental quality and conserving resources is also a goal shared by most in Congress. Clearly, we have a responsibility to preserve and enhance our natural environment. We need to be committed to leaving our children a cleaner, safer world. This goal requires conservation, technological innovation, cooperative efforts, and balanced policy. The reward will be a secure, healthy, and prosperous future. Here are a few things we can do to help preserve our envirnoment:
- Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
- Use public transportation or carpool if possible.
- Don't let your car idle.
- Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
- Don't let the water run while shaving or brushing teeth.
- Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.
- Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level or load size selection on the washing machine.
- Water the lawn or garden during the coolest part of the day (early morning is best).
- Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only – not the street or sidewalk.
- Allow grass clippings to stay on the lawn, instead of bagging them. The cut grass will decompose and return to the soil naturally.
For more tips, go to Earthday.gov or the Environmental Protection Agency websites. You can also do your part by reducing the unwanted catalogs that are mailed to your home or office. Visit the Catalog Choice website and sign up. It's easy and only takes about five minutes. Be patient after you sign up, as it usually takes eight to ten weeks for the catalog senders to take your name off their list.
Useful Links
Environmental Protection Agency