Earth Day

When I was young, I used to attend the ecological center. We had very nice teacher who actually taught me to care about the environment and truly understand the beauty of nature! Have you heard about Earth Day? It's on April 22. This date is supposed to remind us that we, and only we, can change the world we live in. Let's make every day an Earth Day! Why don't we!

Climate change, pollution, flora and fauna distinction - are scary words! Can we do something about it? We should simply start by changing our lifestyle and applying energy saving tips. I believe it's not so hard as it seems!

Earth Day is a day created to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Planet Earth. Founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental meeting in 1970 & is celebrated in many countries every year. The first Earth Day was in 1970. Earth Day is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

EARTH FACTS

• 1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.
• 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year
• 5 billion aluminum cans are used each year
• 84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.
• About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.
• Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually -- consuming more than 850 million trees.
• Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each ear ends up in the ocean.
• Approximately only 10 percent of every landfill can be cleaned up.
• April 22 is the first official day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and of Fall in the Southern hemisphere and was chosen to be Earth Day for this reason.
• By turning down your central heating thermostat one degree, fuel consumption is cut by as much as 10%.
• Computers pose an environmental threat because much of the material that makes them up is hazardous. A typical monitor contains 4-5 pounds of lead.
• Each gallon of fuel releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.
• Each year, billions of used batteries are thrown away in the United States. This constitutes 88% of the mercury and 54% of the cadmium deposited into our landfills
• Earth Day is a relatively new holiday and was first celebrated on April 22 in 1970. More than 20 million Americans participated in this first Earth Day celebration
• The earth is 2/3 water, but all the fresh water streams only represent one hundredth of one percent.
• Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can of gasoline.
• Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as their habitat and human influences destroy them.
• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.
• Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.
• For every 2000 pounds of paper (1 ton) recycled, we save 7,000 gallons of water free from chemicals.
• Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 50%.
• Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers.
• If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 billion bags a year.
• In 1995 over 200 of the world landfills were full.
• It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones.
• Ivory comes from dead elephants, it's best not to buy it.
• More than 1/3 of all energy is used by people at home.
• Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year.
• Never underestimate the importance of recycling: if every newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year.
• One bus carries as many people as 40 cars!
• One gallon of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of water. Dispose of properly!
• Only 11% of the earth's surface is used to grow food.
• Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations.
• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch a TV for three hours - it's equivalent to half a gallon of gasoline.
• The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.
• The amount of wood and paper, we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years
• The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours.
• The garbage in a landfill stays for a for about 30 years.
• The human population of the world is expected to be nearly tripled by the year 2100.
• The patron Saint of ecologists is St. Francis and the first proclamation of Earth Day was made by the mayor of San Francisco in 1970.

on Hubpages

Hubpages is full of green living tips and advices.

Planning on building a small eco-house (may be even movable?) Need something exquisite for house décor, then buy recycled items.

Have you heard about BPA? Everyday plastic we use is full of dangerous toxins... Check out those reusable Sigg and Klean water bottles review. Need a new dress for some occasion?

Or maybe you are planning to be more eco and want to have non-electric life? Replace electric gadgets, eat raw & choose low-energy hobbies. If you have time & you want to buy something eco - Visit Earth Day on Amazon

Turn off thermostat or put less degrees. Put jumper instead

Don't boil full kettle

Replace light bulb with LED lights (one bullb uses 1.5-5W only)

Eliminate standby energy usage by turning it off

Buy A-rating appliances

Insulate your attic

Use shower instead of bath but don't be too strict on yourself

Use full loads for washing machine & dishwasher

Draught seal all windows, doors & other gaps

for kids

Earth Day is a special day to teach kids to take care about the planet. You can start with fun Earth Day activities like recycling craft. Got empty egg carton, empty fabric softener bottle or just empty can tin? Visit Kaboose.

www.yumsugar.com

library.thinkquest.org

& mighty internet