April 22nd for most people, is just another day. Like any day, you expect to wake up, go to work, have dinner, and go back to sleep. While all of this is almost a seemingly effortless cycle, we tend to forget what the Earth is doing for us to make all of that possible. The Earth is awake and working 24/7 to ensure we are safe and able to live to see another day. The Earth provides oxygen for us to breathe, it protects us from meteors, and keeps us warm. The Earth is as close to perfect as we are ever going to see. 

In the 1970’s, the modern environmental movement was born and has continued to revolutionize ever since. It all started with a law that passed on June 30th, 1948 named the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). It was the first law to put regulations on water quality and in the years that followed, we would see more laws come into effect to help protect the place we call home, Earth. On April 22nd, 20 million people participated across the country in a protest against environmental ignorance. Congressman Pete McCloskey and Denis Hayes are responsible for putting this together. This would become recognized as the first Earth Day and has been celebrated since. 

One of the biggest political issues in modern times is global warming. As mentioned on climate.gov, “Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit (0.08 degrees Celsius) per decade since 1880”. In the past 40 years, the temperature has been rising 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit (0.18 degrees Celsius) per decade since 1981. The climate.gov website provides good and reliable information about the Earth’s temperature and studies done throughout the years. For more information, visit: ClimateChange.gov

Helping the Earth is critical for life. For the same reasons you would want to keep your house and car clean, you should be willing to do the same for your other home, Earth. We should be proud to call this planet home. For more information on how you can help celebrate Earth Day and help protect the environment, visit this website: Protecting Our Planet

Not quite sure how to celebrate Earth Day? 2022 marks the 52nd anniversary for Earth Day, this year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet”. The goal behind this year’s theme is to take concrete steps toward a sustainable future; buying from green companies, sustainable practices, encouraging companies, corporations, and other citizens to try out greener practices for Earths’ wellbeing. 

Here are a few of our favorite ways to celebrate this awesome holiday: 

• Support our pollinators!
  • Try planting plants that are native to your area to help out your area’s birds, bees, and butterflies! Here is a website that can help you find plants that are native to your area Native Plant Finder .  Pollinators are crucial to the environment and we have already begun to see a decline in the bee population due to pollution. Grabbing a few packets of wildflower seed mix from the store and sprinkling it in the garden bed not only helps with bringing in pollinators to your garden resulting in a more bountiful harvest, wildflowers can also act as a nutritious food source for wildlife, it also adds some new beautiful colors to your garden. Since wildflower and hummingbird seed mixes are typically native plant seeds they are very low maintenance and essentially take care of themselves as long as they have the basics of soil, sun, and water. Most importantly, sprinkling seeds around can be a fun afternoon activity!
• Donate! 
  • In the spirit of it being the 52nd anniversary you could donate $52 (or any amount) to an environmental nonprofit organization like Conservation Lands Foundation, the Rainforest Trust, or The Wetlands Initiative. These are just examples of some of the non profit environmental organizations you can find a whole list here Highly Rated Environmental Nonprofit Organizations . You could also donate to one of your favorite local or national parks. 
• Conserve Water!
  • Water waste is a huge issue right now, try conserving some of your water. Don’t let me give you the wrong idea, I’m not telling you to avoid showering or brushing your teeth to conserve water, however you could try to avoid watering your ornamental lawn and use only the needed amount of water to water your garden. If the garden thing is an issue for you you could try putting out buckets to gather water for your lawn and plants, which actually is more beneficial for them than the tap water because it holds more minerals and vitamins that your plants will thrive on. There are tons of ways to conserve the water that you use, here’s a website that lists 100 ways to conserve water 100 Ways To Conserve Water 
• Plan an Outdoor Activity!
  • Tennessee is home to tons and tons of beautiful scenic hiking areas, you could try finding one that suits your difficulty level and spend the day outdoors! In the same way you could also spend the day disconnecting from technology, which is beneficial in more than a few ways. Plan an outdoor picnic, walk, hike, bike ride, anything! Take the day to enjoy the outdoors if the weather permits. 

None of these ideas suit your taste? That’s okay! Here is a list of 20 other ways to celebrate and take part in Earth Day! 20 Practical Ways to Celebrate Earth Day!  or you could check out this website for 52 ways to Invest In Our Planet Earth Day Tips .