As April 22 draws nearer, the students at PHS and all around the world should remember that this marks Earth Day, the day designed for honoring and celebrating many earth-related things including its natural beauty, global unity, and the wonder of the life on our planet. Although there are other days some call Earth Day, the technicalities shouldn’t matter all that much because to people who really care about our earth, every day is Earth Day. I say this because even though there is a specific day we celebrate Earth Day, common sense says it’s impossible to make the earth clean and preserve its beauty in one day. This is why you may see shirts, bags, stickers, etc. that say something along the lines of “Go Green!” There are several ways that even we can make a difference on our earth. A few changes in a billion peoples’ daily routines can make a world of difference. The following are things you, as people of the world, can do to help:
· Try buying less bottled water and convince your parents to use a water filter to purify tap water instead. Buying excessive amounts of bottled water generates large amounts of container waste. Also, the fewer bottles of water you buy, the less money you use, so why not?
· When you’re done with an electronic, don’t throw it in the trash. For example, if your cell phone gets old and it needs replaced, instead of pitching it, you can recycle it. Yes, cell phones are recyclable…and so are other electronics. Throwing these things in the trash builds up mercury and other toxins and can ultimately lead to a problem.
· You personally may not wash the clothes at home, but somebody has to. Whoever it is should try to wash the clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85% of the energy in washing clothes goes to just heating the water.
· Use natural light whenever possible. If you’re leaving a room for more than 15 minutes, it won’t kill you to flip the switch off and save electricity. I’m sure your parents will also appreciate the lower light bill each month.
· Sometimes borrowing is better than owning something. If you want to see a movie and you know you’ll only watch it once or twice, rent it. The same goes for borrowing books from local libraries. This saves money and a lot of resources used for printing excessive amounts of paper.
· Although I’m sure you have all heard this one, you really shouldn’t leave the water running while you brush your teeth. If you brush your teeth for roughly one minute twice a day and your water runs around six gallons a minute, you waste thousands of gallons of water a year. It may not seem like a big deal as part of your daily routine, but wasted water adds up.
· Last, but not least, we should all know by now that we shouldn’t throw paper in the trash that we have used only a portion of. Even if you have used the whole paper front and back, put it in the recycling bin at school. So much paper is wasted because of people who aren’t aware that throwing paper away everyday ultimately leads to the loss of trees to make new paper.
These are only a few of the ways you can do your part on this planet. As Earth Day swings around and Mr. Cushman’s ecology class shows their recycling video, you now know how to make a difference if you decide to.
"Earth Day is the first completely international and universal holiday that the world has ever known. Every other holiday was tied to one place, or some political or special event. This day is tied to Earth itself, and to the place of Earth in the whole solar system.” Margaret Mead -- Earth Day Peace Bell Ceremony United Nations, March 21, 1977
