Fort Dodge Messenger: Ways to Celebrate the Planet on Earth Day
Filed under: Earth 911 - April 22, 2008
By Abigail McWilliam
If you haven’t bought your tree yet—relax. There are many ways to celebrate our planet other than the traditional idea of planting a tree. Here are a few suggestions:
- Ride your bike or walk—Try to avoid getting in a car today. You’ll help save energy and won’t create air pollution.
- Turn off the faucet—Save water while you’re brushing your pearly whites. It’s an easy way to save gallons of water.
- Lights off—Turn off the lights when you leave the room and turn off the TV if you aren’t watching it.
- Pick it up—If you notice a piece of trash on the street, pick it up and pitch in.
- Recycle—Take your newspapers, bottles and cans to be recycled today and reduce the amount of trash that ends up in landfills.
- Experience nature—Get outside today, even if it’s just for a little while. Go to a park, utilize a trail, look at the sky. At the very least, draw a deep breath of fresh air.
- Learn about it—Make an effort to learn more about the environment and how to protect it.
- Reuse—Take your drink container with you and use it all day. Don’t use anything disposable.
- Donate—Give your time or money to an environmental group of your choice.
- Talk about it—Talk to your family about Earth Day and how you can implement eco-friendly living into your daily lives and how you can do practical things to protect the environment.
Fort Dodge schools contribute
Fort Dodge Community Schools are helping make the Earth a little bit cleaner today as they spend time picking up garbage around the buildings and playgrounds. Classes in the district will also be coloring awareness posters to remind fellow students to do simple activities like:
- Shut off a light when you leave the room.
- Shut off the water faucet while brushing their teeth.
- Recycle plastic, aluminum and other items at home.
Students are also encouraged to wear green or white for the day to promote recycling as well.
Iowa Central Community College is also getting involved by passing out “ONE EARTH” bracelets and letting people know about the educational Web site www.earth911.org.
Internet users can visit the site and type in their zip code to learn the nearest locations to drop off hard-to-recycle items. Sites for disposing of used motor oil, antifreeze, car batteries, other batteries, plastic grocery bags and more can be found by searching the site.
In addition, this site can help users locate places to recycle household items, electronics and automotive supplies.