As you are no doubt aware, Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day!  It will be the 40th year the Earth has been honored with its own special day.  

     It seems to me that the number of people who love our planet has never been higher.  About a billion people are expected to celebrate this year’s Earth Day, making it the world’s largest secular event, according to Earth Day Network, an umbrella organization working in 174 countries.

     If you want to contribute to a healthier planet, you can likely find just the activity that will fit your interests and your time schedule.  The Earth Day Network’s website (www.earthday.net) is a trove of information on an incredible range of Earth Day activities in which volunteers can engage.

     For example, students can find out about campus-based events scheduled at colleges and universities all over the country and can get help in organizing an event at their own campus.  Teachers can find sources of green teaching materials and can network with thousands of other teachers to work for greener schools.   Members of faith communities can find out what others of the same faith tradition around the country are doing and how to join in.  Business owners can see what other businesses are doing to celebrate, and register an action of their own.   

     Individuals can also use the Earth Day Network site to find out about community Earth Day celebrations  planned for their city and how to get involved.

     You may want to focus on a particular environmental concern this Earth Day.  For example, thousands of people concerned about global warming, in hundreds of communities, will meet face-to-face with others in the National Conversation on Climate Change.  People will be discussing substantive solutions to climate change and local climate action opportunities. 

     Or if you’re among the growing number of people concerned about the growing demand for water, you can participate in a ‘Water for Life’ campaign to raise awareness about the importance of stewarding global water resources.

     An Earth Day event can be just plain fun, like a family day for playing and learning on a nearby river, or a  community drama performance. 

     Since Earth Day falls mid-week this year, many events will be held the weekend before or after Earth Day.        And if you want to launch an event but don’t know how, just click on http://www.earthday.net/node/88.  Here you will find “Earth Day in a Box”–an organizer’s guide that will tell you everything you need to know to organize an Earth Day event.  

     I’m sure we can all find or initiate some kind of Earth Day activity that engages our enthusiasm for our fabulous planet!–April Moore

    

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 6:08 pm and is filed under Act now to save our beloved Earth!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.