Help The Earth Today!
By: Evelyn McGreevey
How To Help
Helping clean up the earth is a great thing to do and there are plenty of ways to do it. You could ride your bike more often to prevent pollution caused by cars or you could plant flowers or trees to make Earth look beautiful. I know that's what I am doing to do, how about you.
The History of Help
In 1962, Gaylord Nelson decided something needed to be done to protect the environment. Nelson headed to Washington, D.C. to convince President John F. Kennedy to take a stand on environmental issues.The President set out on a five-day, 11-state conservation tour in September 1963. Although Kennedy's high-profile tour was not successful, Nelson continued to speak to audiences across 25 states about the importance of the environment."The idea that became Earth Day," said Nelson, "occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969."On March 21, 1971, the UN Secretary-General signed a proclamation establishing Earth Day as an official international holiday. Now people all over the world are learning about environmental issues in their communities. Gaylord Nelson died on July 3, 2005, but his actions will always be remembered as younger generations continue his fight to preserve the world's environment.
Some Interesting Facts
Did you know that the average american produces about four pounds of trash each day. That equals around 1600 pounds of trash per person over the course of a year! In 2012 the U.S produced thirty two million tons of plastic. Only 9% of that plastic was recovered for recycling! That is crazy! And by recycling one ton of paper you could heat a whole house for six months straight.