Earth Day 2015
By: Mary McGrory 5-D
History of Earth Day
Earth Day was celebrated for the first time in 1970. On that day, more than 20 million Americans participated. Gaylord Nelson helped to make that happen. He helped raise awareness that something needed to happen about our earth. He made speeches and eventually he traveled to Washington D.C and met with the president's attorney general, hoping to convince his presidency to make the Earth Day idea come to life. Luckily, the president, John F. Kennedy was convinced. Gaylord died in 2005. Still, to this day we carry on his idea and make it a yearly tradition, to show love for Earth.
How We Can Help
Reduce
- use cloth bags at stores instead of plastic
- turn off lights in your house before you leave
Reuse
- use containers for food instead of bags
- use unneeded paper for lists or crafts
Recycle
- use recycle bins
- recycle bags and light bulbs at stores
Fun Facts
- In 2012, the U.S produced 32 million tons of plastic. Only 9% was recycled.
- A glass bottle takes 1,000,000 years to break down.
- By recycling 1 ton of paper we can heat a home for 6 months.
Earth Day helps us see Earth's beauty. We think about what we can do to make life better for now and for what is to come. This day makes us think about how the Earth came to be and how we can help make to make our Earth happy and healthy! Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.