Earth Day is a holiday dedicated to one purpose: to raise awareness about the health of the environment. Observed annually on April 22, it has become an international celebration. Over 192 countries now celebrate this holiday, which became of international significance in 2009.
The Push for a Cleaner World
The first Earth day was suggested in 1969, at a San Francisco United Nations conference. Soon after, the US Congress ratified their own version of the holiday, set to take place every April 22. The original congressional founder, Gaylord Nelson, is believed to have been motivated by a recent oil spill. He called for a teaching day to be created in order to educate students on the important environmental issues we continually face. There was a great deal of success, with many different cities creating large-scale events to observe the holiday. Within 20 years, the activities included over 200 million people in 141 countries, and it has only continued to grow in our present day.
The purpose of this holiday, of course, is to hold events and demonstrations to educate the masses about the need for environmental action, taken on an individual, corporate, and global scale. Focus often included conservation events such as tree plantings, waste cleanups, protests against pollution and destruction of natural resources, and informative exhibits. Earth Day celebrations take on the theme of nature, often incorporating the color green.
Saving Electricity During the Holidays
Fortunately, much technological advancement has been made to help families be more mindful of their carbon footprint around Christmas time. With the help of LED holiday lighting, people can enjoy a brilliant display while using less electricity than standard, traditional bulbs. Using less than a tenth of the electricity of normal bulbs and burning out far less frequently, LED lights are perfect for decorating your home. For outdoor decorations, solar-powered lights are also a great choice, as they consume no exterior electricity at all! They are instead powered by the energy of the sun. Both LED and solar lights are readily available, helping the environmentally conscious celebrate Earth Day not just in April, but alongside any other holiday or event.
So plant a tree, sort some recycling, and take a moment to consider what else you can do to help make our beautiful Earth a little healthier.