April 22 is an annual event to celebrate the Earth and to take steps to improve the environment for all who share the same planet.
Tomorrow there will also be a March for Science in many locales, notably in Washington, D.C. and in New York City. In New York City, the March for Science will assemble at Central Park West and 64th Street in Manhattan. Open the link for details.
Earth Day began in 1970 and is now a worldwide event.
What will you do?
Trump has promised to slash the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency. He does not believe that the climate is changing in response to human activity like pollution. Neither do most of those that he has put in charge of EPA and other agencies that relate to science. Scientists fear that those in this administration might wipe out decades of data that have been collected about climate change, in addition to defunding the agencies responsible for protecting the environment. What will happen to the Endangered Species Act? We must all stay informed to protect what is left and to resist the reversal of decades of effort to save the earth and its creatures.
It is hard to remember the days when automobiles and trucks spewed pollution and when smokers were free to smoke wherever they wanted, even in the enclosed cabins of airplanes.
What a shame to reverse those years of progress towards protecting the planet and protecting humans too.
Nearly 500 communities across the world will participate in Earth Day activities and a March for Science.
Join one. Be informed. Be active.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“How I plan to celebrate earth day”
For Earth Day Forty Seven
I plan to chop a tree
To honor Earthly Heaven
I’ll drill in Arctic sea
I’ll open up a pipeline
That brings the oil to you
Pollute the river lifeline
With tar and other goo
I’ll bring back dirty coal
And with it, lung disease
The things enviros stole
Through hugging of the trees
I’ll shutter EPA
And end the Species Act
Polluters shouldn’t pay
And grizzlies should be sacked
I’ll celebrate the day
For glory of the Earth
No matter what you say
I’ll smoke, for what it’s worth
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I think the number ONE message of Earth Day is to practice the first R of the 4 Rs: Refuse and Reject, before you Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
As long as Americans, or any nation, enjoy their ease of consumerism, materialism and , in excess, their hedonism, then we will consume more resources and energy than we need and leave more pollution and affect Climate Change more.
If one loves and “needs” their cruises, their movies, their Orlando trips and all the other forms of excess we’ve invented; which may be all forms of “covetousness, which is idolatry”.
When one can say, feel and live out, “my Creator is my shepherd, I shall not want”, then one is content with what they have, is thankful and does not have the “itch” to want more or be envious of others. Cure our insatiable “need” for things and purchased- experiences and you will honor the earth and its’ Creator. Anything less than this is just a band-aid upon a fatal wound. For as long as we believe buying, using and consuming more is a path to happiness the environment will suffer.
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Rick,
I agree with your thoughts as expressed in the first paragraph completely! Well stated! While we have our differences in regards to faith beliefs, what you have pointed out is exactly what is needed, less me-me, less consumerism, less materialism, less blatant amassing and displays of personal supposed wealth, etc. . . . But we’re fighting against the “American Way” of being-over consumption on all levels.
Thanks!
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Ever heard of Alex Honnold?
Some people might consider his take extreme, but he certainly has the “use less” (not useless) mindset.
https://youtu.be/C1ClX9MF7GU
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Interesting! Have thought of doing something similar. Sell my place and just live a life on the road. Living a life on the road? Wasn’t that something we were supposed to do when we were younger?
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Duane
Watch the next video of Alex where he climbs the 2500 wall free soloing (without a rope for protection)
Is that what you mean about doing something similar?
It’s debatable whether that is best done young or older.
On the one hand, most people are in better shape to climb when they are young.
But on the other hand, if one does things like Alex when young they may never get old.
I used to climb a lot when I lived out west and even did some free soloing (though nowhere near as extreme as what Alex does). I can certainly understand what the attraction is and I have a great deal of respect for how hard it is to do what he does. Alex has reached not just a level of physical fitness but a level of mental control that few people ever reach.
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Of course the Heartland Institute is giving away 200,000 books to teachers–freebies–with the clear intent to perpetuate in this generation, denials of any human influence on climate change. Please see what this teacher found in her mail. This is another version of the “teach both sides of the issue” as if teachers and students should be taken in by that logic. Science is about evidence that supports hypotheses, and some evidence is more compelling, accurate, extensive and so on. Shades of the “Panda” curriculum.
http://www.dw.com/en/imagine-americas-next-generation-are-climate-deniers/a-38482126
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I remember visiting Pittsburgh when my future husband was in college there. When the wind blew the wrong way, an orange tinged smog coated the city. The guys used to talk about the Monangahela River catching fire. When we would take a road trip back East, we had to drive through Gary, Indiana. No matter what the temperature, we always rolled up the windows it smelled so bad. These people are scary.
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I’ve been observing in high school classrooms for the last year as a pre-requisite for a credentialing program, and one teacher I observed last year had her students write in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). There were three options, an op-ed, formal letter, or myth/ short story (similar to an Aesop fable).
Giving our students current issues to discuss and write about is essential. These students then had their work published or seen in various places such as the school newspaper, city newspaper, online, their letters were sent to congressmen, etc. This was a wonderful assignment since it provided the opportunity to write for a real audience and on a topic of social importance. It also gave them three options to choose from which is beneficial for the student to have these options and pick what they would like to do.
Teachers can have similar assignments or discussions surrounding Earth Day, the EPA, and Trump.
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