Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! This holiday, observed April 22nd every year since 1969, increases public awareness of environmental issues such as recycling, pollution, energy, and global warming.

People all over the world will pitch in today to help make our planet cleaner and greener. There are lots of easy things you can do to help care for our planet today and every day. Here are a few ideas:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Or, better yet, if there's enough sunlight coming in, leave the lights off when you enter a room.

2. Reuse the back-sides of paper.

3. Turn off the water when you're not using it, specifically when brushing your teeth.

4. Don't leave the refrigerator open for too long. Decide what you want to eat before opening the door because it takes more energy to cool the refrigerator down after the warmer air has come in.

5. Unplug unused electrical devices throughout your house. Anything plugged into an electrical socket, but not turned on will still use some energy.

6. Pack a greener lunch: Use a cloth bag instead of paper bags, and pack your food in reusable plastic or metal containers, instead of plastic wrap or foil. You can also pack your drink in a reusable bottle or thermos, and even try using a cloth napkin instead of paper ones.

7. Reuse things to make crafts! Check out a book on Earth-friendly crafting!

And why not read a few short stories about our Earth for inspiration? Here are some titles to get you started:

Ballyhoo Bay  by Judy Sierra

Just A Dream by Chris Van Allsburg

Annie Glover is Not a Tree Lover by Darleen Bailey Beard

Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown

Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter From Home by Schim Schimmel

The Great Trash Bash by Loreen Leedy

Dinosaur Woods: Can Seven Clever Critters Save Their Forest Home? by George McClements

Miss Fox's Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli

Trash Trouble by Larry Dane Brimner

Earth Day 2010

Happy Earth Day!

Every year, since 1969, we have observed Earth Day on April 22nd. Earth Day's purpose is to increase public awareness of environmental issues such as recycling, pollution, energy, and global warming.

There are lots of easy, small things you can do to help care for our planet. Here are a few ideas:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Or, better yet, if there's enough sunlight coming in, leave the lights off when you enter a room.

2. Reuse the back-sides of paper.

3. Turn off the water when you're not using it, specifically when brushing your teeth.

4. Don't leave the refridgerator open for too long. Decide what you want before opening the door because it takes more energy to cool the refridgerator down after the warmer air has come in.

5. Unplug unused electrical devices throughout your house. Anything plugged into an electrical socket, but not turned on will still use some amount of energy. This energy is being wasted! So besure to unplug old toys, stereos, and chargers that you aren't using.

6. Pack a greener lunch: Use a cloth bag instead of paper bags, and pack your food in reusable plastic or metal containers, instead of plastic wrap or foil. You can also pack your drink in a reusable bottle or thermos, and even try using a cloth napkin instead of paper ones.

7. Check out a book on Earth-friendly crafting, such as this one, for instance.

And why not read a few short storioes about the saving the Earth for inspiration? Here are some titles to get you started:

Just A Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg

Charlie & Lola: We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, by Lauren Child

Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, by Steven Kross

The Great Trash Bash, by Loreen Leedy

Abigale the Happy Whale, by Peter Farrelly