Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!

Earth Day was started back in 1970 by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson and Harvard Graduate student Denis Hayes, to address urgent threats facing the world.

There was a huge turnout the first Earth Day in 1970— one tenth of the population of the United States — and the enthusiasm for change led to unprecedented action from the federal government. Congress passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, and President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican, created the Environmental Protection Agency.

Earth Day is now celebrated worldwide by about one billion people. This year will be a bit different with people celebrating Earth Day digitally!

The Younger Generations are Stepping Up

My children are 37, 26 and 24 years old. I am so proud of the younger generations, they passionately care about our earth. My daughters always carry their resusables with them. My kids love growing their own food and composting. They always stop to pick up trash and frequently participate in community clean up days. They often engage in conversations about how the world is changing and how the change may impact life on this planet as we know it. 

They even go so far as to post regularly on social media regarding environmental issues they feel are important to share with others. Trust me- I would love to take full credit for teaching my kids about the issues surrounding our planet, but sadly I can’t. They are just more aware than I was growing up. They have been hungry to learn and passionate about making a difference.

Perhaps some of you still have children at home or young people you are involved with. 

You have the opportunity to inspire and speak to the generations that will be responsible for protecting our Earth and its inhabitants. 

Better yet you can show the younger people how to care for our earth.  You even can persuade adults to protect our earth when you buy hybrid vehicles and solar panels! Your words have impact; your actions have even greater impact! 

Tomorrow’s Challenge

I challenge you to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow digitally! If you have youngsters in the house, remember they are the leaders of tomorrow, let’s teach them how to love and care for God’s gift to us!

Start giving back to Earth as we talked about yesterday.  If you don’t have children, still make an effort join in, learn about the issues, celebrate our wonderful Earth and join with others in protecting our planet!

Below is a link to a website that has recommendations for awesome nature documentaries you can watch with your families- 

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2020-04-21/best-nature-documentaries/

Here are some links to help you get more involved digitably with Earth Day- 

https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2020/

How To Talk To Kids About Climate Change

<https://www.npr.org/2019/10/22/772266241/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-climate-change>