June 18 is International Picnic Day. The word picnic first appeared in English in a letter of the Gallicized Lord Chesterfield in 1748, who associates it with card-playing, drinking and conversation, and may have entered the English language from this French word: pique-nique.  The term was used to describe a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. The actual usage began as "pique un niche" meaning to "pick a place," an isolated spot where family or friends could enjoy a meal together away from the distractions, demands, and public nature of a communal life. The concept of a picnic long retained the connotation of a meal to which everyone contributed something.

​For some menu ideas, try Splendid Table or Kentucky Proud Recipes.

​
If you don't want to cook, consider stopping into a market or restaurant to get fresh local foods to go.

You can find some good leads here: Visit Appalachia
                                                            Appalachian Grown
                                                            Local Harvest

Today is also Go Fishing Day. Go Fishing Day is dedicated to sport fishing, as well as those who fish as part of survival (known as subsistence fishing). Fishing is a great way to help add food to your table while having the satisfaction of knowing that you caught it yourself, as well as a wonderful bonding opportunity for friends and family. Find a good fishing hole in Kentucky: Fishing in Neighborhoods
​
If you’re still looking for a reason to get outside with family and friends, the National Park Service had (before the administration was focusing on pillaging) a Park Rx program that emphasized reasons why being outside is a prescription for good health:

• Being in nature can improve your mood, increase physical activity, and combat obesity.
• Being outside and the health benefits can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of who you are and where you come from.
• Parks foster social connections, which are vital to community cohesion and contribute to social well-being.
• For little kids, nature fosters active play, which is associated with physical, cognitive, and social benefits.
• For bigger kids (and all of us, really), nature improves mental and social health during what is often a challenging time of life.

So get outside, picnic, and fish. Sure, you might panic when your child actually catches a fish and you realize you have to be the one that gets it off the line and throw it back without displaying your panic so they don’t have the same anxieties that you have, but it’s worth it!!

June 9th is Knit in Public Day. World Wide Knit in Public Day was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes. It began as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other’s company: 

"Knitting is such a solitary act that it’s easy to knit alone somewhere and sink into your work without thinking about all the other knitters out there. Neighbors could spend all their lives never knowing that the other knits.  This a specific day to get out of your house and go to a local event (with your knitting in tow) just for you and people like you.  Who knows you might even bump into your neighbor! Consider this a spark, to ignite a fire; getting all of the closeted knitters out into fresh air. "

Using knitting as a knowledge sharing community event is intriguing to me; not just because I am an avid knitter who loves to knit in public to encourage conversations about knitting, but also because I love knowledge sharing community events. Growing up in rural northeastern Ohio, my parents would take us to festivals and events of all sizes as a free activity to get out of the house. I remember running around playing tag, begging for the sugary treats from vendor booths and the heaven of finding free samples, and (most importantly as a parent) having a hard time keeping my eyes open on the way home. But I also remember walking through craft booths and farm stands, marveling at the demonstrations, studying the artisan works, and seeing new ways to DIY.

I often say that my learned sustainable living behavior was really frugality; my parents chose to raise four kids on one salary. We shopped at thrift stores, recycled and reused, and consumed the basics because we didn't have much money. But I was never really aware that we didn't have money. I was instead taught that money can't buy what matters: people, family, and being intelligent. In that way, knowledge sharing community events are intriguing. 

So, for Knit in Public Day, think about the importance of these types of events. If you look at any literature for improving the economic, environmental or social components of any community, advocates emphasize starting with education: outreach and awareness. Meetings. Knowledge fairs. 

"A knowledge share fair is a buzzing, interactive and collaborative workspace, with lively discussions and practical demonstrations. There are facilitated sessions to learn how others have improved the effectiveness and quality of their work, and opportunities for networking, allowing people to connect and link ideas as well as exchanging opinions in a natural way and relaxed setting. A share fair is not a goal in itself, but the beginning of a process. It will create new partnerships; new exchanges between people that would like to work together, in a different way." - FAO UN

If you want to affect change, and advocate sustainable and simple living, I encourage you to knit in public or start with sharing information in an interactive, kid exhausting, treat tasting, informative way!

Wednesday, June 4, is Clean Air Day, a timely reminder that the quality of the air we breathe affects our lungs, especially during the heat and humidity of summer when air pollution can reach unsafe levels.

Use your feet and leave the car at home
Walk, cycle, bus, train ... However you like to travel, leave your car at home and take to the streets. Amazingly, car drivers can be exposed to twice as much air pollution as pedestrians and nine times more than a cyclist. So as well as cutting down the amount of pollution you make, you're reducing you exposure to air pollution and getting some exercise too. 

Discover the side streets
Using quieter streets when you’re on a bike or on foot can lower your exposure to air pollution by 20%.

Avoid strenuous activity when pollution is high
There are about 10 to 20 high pollution days a year when it’s better to avoid working out too hard if you have a heart or lung condition. But on balance, for most people, most of the time, it is healthier to exercise than sit it out.

Turn your engine off when stationary
I feel you. It’s too hot or too cold to turn off the car. But, by turning off your car engine whenever you’re not moving – and it’s safe to do so – you’ll help to make the air cleaner for you, other drivers and pedestrians. 

Consume less energy = produce less pollution
Gas and electricity are big contributors to air pollution. Gas creates fumes when we burn it to heat our homes, and electricity produced by power stations burning fossil fuels has the same result. There are lots of things you can do to conserve energy (and lower your bills), such as switching off the lights, filling the kettle with just what you need, and only running the washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load.

Keep your car tires inflated
Yep, having properly-inflated tires really means your car will be more efficient and use less fuel. Great for the environment and great for your pocket too.

Think about how you do your cleaning!
Keep dust levels low, use fragrance-free or naturally-scented products, switch to mild cleaning products and avoid aerosols.

Burn smokeless fuels or dry, well-seasoned wood on your barbecue or stove
This is particularly important as pollution from burning fuels damages the air for those who live nearby as well as within your own home.

Switch energy suppliers
Choose renewable energy tariffs for your home supply to reduce the pollution produced by power stations.

Recycle your compostables
Rather than burning your garden waste, compost it and turn it into food for your vegetable patch.

Save the wood-burning stove for the bleak winter
​Wood-burning stoves look great and they’re so cozy. But burning wood produces a lot of air pollutants. To minimize your contribution to air pollution, only light it when you really have to. 

May 31 is Walt Whitman’s Birthday. You may remember him, as I do, from high school and college courses; his writings and poems dissected to discover meaning, metaphors, diction, syntax, form, rhyme scheme, and other literary techniques. But have you recalled his works when you’re alone in nature? Maybe, say, 25 years after college?

“The asphalt wraps itself round the mountain,
a black river ascending into the mist.
​
Wet, moss-covered stone, flushed orange and yellow oaks,
shivering, stoic firs, and smoldering red maples cling
to the bosom of the Blue ridge as fall fades to winter.”

It’s time to recall voices from the past. Walt Whitman shares the Romantic poet's relationship with nature. To him, as to Emerson, nature is divine and an emblem of God. The universe is not dead matter, but full of life and meaning. He loves the earth, the flora and fauna of the earth, the moon and stars, the sea, and all other elements of nature. He believes that man is nature's child and that man and nature must never be separated.

“As a light rain glazes the skin of my outstretched arm
I can feel the chill of the Appalachian air electrifying
the hair on my neck, chilling my bones.

Soaring into another cloud, my beloved asleep on my shoulder,
I breathe in the cold air deeper, and then deeper still.

Ascending higher and delving deeper into the mountains I’m reminded
what it is that propels me ever onward, ever upward –
the Appalachian air instills something in me…something light.”

This summer, walk with confidence and knowledge in the natural world. Have you ever picked up a stunning rock and wonder what made it sparkle? Ever hear a beautiful bird call and wonder what little creature had just serenaded you? Take time to ask many questions and to discover the answers. Along the way, seek guidance from poets and storytellers. Recognize the vital connection between stories and places. Words and nature.  Learn the names and uses of local trees, plants, and animals. Learn skills of observation so you can continue to cultivate your wilderness knowledge. Take time to just be. 

Get out your gardening gloves, May 29 is National Learn About Composting Day! We all want to do our part to conserve natural resources and reduce our carbon footprint. Composting is not only an environmentally safe fertilizer but it can help you save water, energy, fuel and money! It also keeps noxious toxins from getting in our run-off and ground water through the use of chemical based commercial fertilizers. The use of a natural fertilizer made from compost will make your garden hospitable to wild life helpers like honey bees, hummingbirds and of course, worms!

So, what is compost? Compost is organic matter that has decomposed. In a garden, decomposition is a good thing! Compost can be made from kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, newspapers, leaves wood chips, coffee grinds…almost any food products. Composting saves resources, and because of its high nutrient content, it adds to soil stability and reduces soil disease. It will help your garden grow lush and promote healthy growth in seedlings and plants. It’s for all these reasons gardeners call compost “black gold”. Composting allows you to accomplish the big environmental three: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

This year the focus of compost day is awareness. Knowing what it is, why and how to do it. However, I have found there are reasons NOT too compost. I’ve asked lots of friends and relatives why not: their collective rationale being it’s gross, it’s annoying, it’s inconvenient, I don’t even see what difference it will make. The difference, annoyingly enough, is that the impact of diverting the entirety of food waste in the United States from landfills is equivalent to removing 7.8 million passenger cars from the nation’s streets, according to the U.S. Composting Council. The only benefit of not composting, particularly in a city with infrastructure in place, is that it is less bothersome to you.

Wow! Now you feel kind of bad. A little selfish. It’s OK! The entirety of human action toward environmental sustainability, justice, or anything else can be boiled down to quietly eroding your own selfishness.

I have been included in this group. Sometimes you’re going through it and don’t want to deal with the little chore. And fruit flies. And kids spilling it all over before it even gets to the compost tumbler. I’m in a rush and I don’t want to want mess around with it, etc.  But, I have always had a lot of motivation begin with financial savings. Have you ever paid for soil to build a good sized raised bed? Have you ever been frustrated that your plants look terrible despite the fertilizer you paid for and applied diligently? Have you ever had kids dig in your bought soil and throw it all over the yard? Have you ever paid way too much for cucumbers or tomatoes or peppers because yours aren’t thriving? Those are my motivations.

It’s free
To start your own compost pile will cost you nothing but a little effort, space, and time. Sure, you may want to invest in a tumbler (I did and it’s great!) or build a compost bin or system. Figure out the method you’d like to use to compost, and take items you may have thrown out or recycled and use them to create your compost pile! Once you’ve got the right mix of items, you only need to keep it slightly damp and turn it every once in a while and the process of decomposition will do all the work for you! Be patient and in few short weeks you can have your own black gold made from your household garbage. This is definitely a case of turning trash into treasure.

My other motivation is to show my kids the value of reusing our waste. I struggle with wanting the best for my babies and boiling with rage when they complain about wanting more stuff or saying “ew” to small steps we take to reduce our footprint. I want them to understand that we are part of a much bigger system that depends on us to do our part.

It’s environmentally friendly
By utilizing your household organic and paper trash, you reduce the amount of garbage going to our landfill. When organic waste is put in the trashcan, the trash is driven to a disposal site where it can take years to decompose because it’s been encased in a plastic bag. Using compost in your garden or on a farm also reduces the amount of dangerous commercial fertilizers used to encourage growth in crops, and conserves water by improving the stability of the soil in which you’ve planted your fruits, vegetables, flowers, and shrubbery.

Don’t get weighted down by the “rules.” Be open to learning about the process. Be open to learning what works for you. Don’t make it a chore; have fun learning about composting and your contribution to the planet!
​
It’s fun
There is a feeling of total satisfaction when you take something that could have been put in the garbage and transform it into a usable substance. It’s almost like magic! Also the use of compost will increase the worm population and if you have children, you know worms are, in fact, fun to watch and have wiggle in your palm! You know the worms are doing the work of aerating the soil and increasing nutrients in the dirt, but your kids just think worms are cool.

It's Endangered Species Day. You may be jump to the conclusion that saving a species is a big job that demands a complex myriad of policies, partners, and funding. Sometimes it does. But there are little things you can do everyday.

Species loss threatens to reduce biodiversity, the presence of a variety of species in a given area, which is key to sustaining both local ecosystems and the global ecosystem more broadly. Biodiversity helps ensure that certain specific and necessary functions are carried out within an ecosystem — think about how pollination allows plants to flower and predators eliminate pests.

​Biodiversity ensures that if one species goes extinct or leaves a particular region, another is there to take its place. Ultimately, the collapse of ecosystems can lead to even bigger problems like the worsening of climate change, because of the increased release of carbon dioxide.

Many species also play key cultural and economic roles that if lost would threaten local communities. Endangered bees play a key role in pollination for agriculture. Coral reefs play a key role maintaining coastal fisheries. African elephants attract tourists to sub-saharan Africa.

1. Help Native Pollinators. Pollinators, are the key to reproduction for most flowering plants which are foundation to the survival of many species on our planet. This is why the criteria of Biodiversity Hotspots gives so much weight to the number of plants in an area. Give pollinators an extra boost in your backyard by: reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides, providing nectar sources by planting a variety of wildflowers and native plants that will bloom throughout the season, leaving logs and rocks in your yard or build bee boxes for native bees to make their home, encouraging your City to stop weed-whacking median strips and sidewalk edges and let native wildflowers grow to create pollinator corridors. Visit the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to learn more.

2. Reduce or eliminate pesticides and fertilizer. Consider getting rid of your lawn, especially if you live in an arid region. Instead, plant native plants that are well adapted to your area. This will reduce the need to use pesticides and fertilizers. Don’t buy plants from nurseries that use systemic pesticides such as neonictinoids. When applied, they persist in all parts of the plant from the seed to the stem to the blossom and reek havoc on already stressed pollinators. Use organic compost and soil additives instead. Soil health is the best prevention for pest infestations, but if you do get visited by unwanted guests, learn how to care for your plants with organic pest control.

3. Restore habitat in your yard. If you have a yard, consider turning it into a mini-wildlife sanctuary. National Wildlife Federation has a program to help you attract wildlife whether you have a balcony or a 20-acre farm. In a world where habitat loss is the number one cause of biodiversity loss, providing wildlife with water, food, cover, and a place to raise their young can go a long way.

4. Restore habitat in your community. If you don’t have a yard, consider volunteering on an ecological restoration project in your area (ASPI has 200 acres, just saying). You’ll spend time outdoors and learn about the native plants and animals.

5. Reduce your consumption. This is arguably the action that will have the biggest positive impact on the environment. The more we reduce our demand for new resources, the less habitat will be destroyed to get those resources or the energy to make those products, and the less waste goes into the landfill. Become a minimalist. Most “minimalists” choose to live a simple life to free up their time to do the things they love rather than spending time shopping and repairing stuff. The idea is “Own Less, Live More.” But it’s undeniable that the minimalist lifestyle also greatly benefits the environment.

6. Reuse and recycle. Composting is key here. It reduces the amount of waste going into landfills and the space needed to hold that waste. Look into ways you can use those purchases intended for single-use. Keep up with what is recyclable in your area. As new markets for recycled products open up, even small towns like mine can increase the numbers of items that they are able to collect.

7. Reduce your energy demand. Burning fossil fuels is the number one driver of climate change which is exponentially quickening biodiversity loss by presenting unparalleled challenges to the world’s plants and animals. Start by conserving energy in your home. A Home Energy Audit can help raise your awareness about where you can reduce energy use in your home. Then incorporate renewable energy. Solar!

8. Buy local foods. Buying from your local farmer at a farmer’s market or through a farm stand gives you the ability to find out how your food was grown and make requests for different practices such as no pesticides, or a greater diversity of produce. It’s easier to ask someone you have a relationship with to change their practices than a big corporation.

9. Buy organic foods. While organic certification doesn’t guarantee that your food is 100% free of pesticides, organic growers are held to criteria of minimal pesticide use.

10. Donate to conservation efforts. Species extinction is happening at an unprecedented rate and there never seems to be enough money to save everything. Prioritize your charitable giving to support conservation efforts in the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
​
11. Advocate for Biodiversity.

• Educate yourself about the importance of biodiversity and be able to answer the questions, “Why does it matter so much?” and “Why should we make sacrifices to protect it?”
• Genetically modified crops pose multiple serious threats to biodiversity. Support the International Union of Concerned Scientists recommendations on GM crops.
• Make connections. Get to know wildlife and conservation biologists as well as political activists and community leaders in your area. Use social media to connect with experts and campaigns.
• Lobby your government. Sign or create petitions. Support politicians who support measures to protect biodiversity.
• Share your message. Talk to your friends in person. Use social media. Start a blog. Speak at local events.

Historic preservation is a conversation with our past about our future. It provides us with opportunities to ask, "What is important in our history?" and "What parts of our past can we preserve for the future?" Through historic preservation, we look at history in different ways, ask different questions of the past, and learn new things about our history and ourselves. Historic preservation is an important way for us to transmit our understanding of the past to future generations. Our nation's history has many facets, and historic preservation helps tell these stories.

It helps the environment. Historic preservation can prevent sprawl.  Since historic buildings already exist, and since most are in built-up areas, each one that is rehabilitated and used eliminates the need for a new building in an area that is not yet built up. Here are some good reasons to preserve and protect:

• It preserves the historic, architectural, and aesthetic character and heritage of a community or area, and helps to provide a sense of place and continuity. As suburban sprawl and roadside development make more and more places look the same, it becomes important for communities to keep their identities intact. Even one or two striking historic buildings can help to define a community and hint at its past. If whole neighborhoods or rural areas can be preserved, the effect is that much greater. The sense of history can contribute to community pride, and to a better understanding of the community’s present.

• It is an efficient use of resources. Historic preservation conserves resources, reduces waste, and saves money by repairing and reusing existing buildings instead of tearing them down and building new ones.
• It preserves old methods of workmanship. Because many modern buildings are built on the assumption that they will only be needed for a relatively short time before they are replaced, workmanship and building methods of all but the most significant buildings are not as careful or durable as methods used in the past, when buildings were expected to last indefinitely. By working on historic buildings, new generations of craftsmen learn the techniques to improve modern buildings as well.
• It can change the nature of a neighborhood or area. An area restored to its original appearance could serve as a magnet for tourists, and provide jobs for local residents. Local residents could also be employed in rehabilitation or restoration as artisans or workers, if they have the skills, or as trainees. In the latter case, by the end of the project, many may have developed enough competency as carpenters, masons, or the like to start new careers.

• It can provide an opportunity for the imaginative or creative use of a building that has stood empty because it outlived its previous use, and at the same time solve a community problem. An empty historic industrial building turned into an affordable or mixed-income residential development both rescues the building and provides much-needed housing for the area.  An old hotel rehabilitated as a public school might address both overcrowded classrooms and the question of what to do with a large, unused building.
• It can be a good investment. Historic buildings can be relatively cheap for businesses to rehabilitate because of the possibility of tax incentives, grants, and other support for that activity.  In addition, they may attract business in and of themselves, simply because people are often fascinated by them.  Just as many tourists like to stay in old houses that have been restored as bed-and-breakfasts, others might be excited to stay in a hotel that was once an old mill (or in a restored once-famous hotel, for that matter), or to eat in a restaurant that was a railroad station or a church 100 years ago.  An interesting office or commercial building, by the same token, especially one that clearly started out as something else (a railroad roundhouse or a high school), might attract clients to an architect or designer, or customers to a complex of stores and restaurants.

What is there that’s more interesting than space? Never ending, always expanding, full of stars and suns and planets and untold mysteries – as long as we live, we won’t know all the secrets that this great vacuum holds. But that doesn’t stop us trying to learn absolutely everything we can about it!
 
On the first Friday of each May, space and science fans alike celebrate space with a dedicated day of observance to everything in the great beyond. Because there’s so much out there in space, you can be sure that there’s always going to be enough to celebrate on this day as every year comes!

This day is dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits and opportunities in the exploration and use of space.  The goal of National Space Day is to promote math, science, technology and engineering education in young people to inspire them to pursue a career in science, especially a career in space-related jobs.

But it's also Fellowship Day. A day to celebrate your friends. Why not celebrate with a story about friendship and space?

Constellation: Cycnus, The Swan

Cycnus was a devoted friend of Phaethon, the mortal son of Helios, the charioteer of the Sun.  Phaethon was a bold and head strong teenager, and like most teenagers, he thought he knew more than his “Old-Man.”  One night his bold nature got the better of him, and despite the advice of his friend Cycnus, and the warnings of his father, Phaethon took out the family car for a bit of a joy ride.  The trouble was, the family car was the Sun Chariot and its horsepower was provided by real horses, Phaethon realized very quickly that his joy ride was a mistake, but it was too late.  The horses that pulled the Sun Chariot were strong and wild, and only the strength of Helios could control them. 

Phaethon’s wild ride took him dangerously close to the vault of the heavens and threatened to singe the earth and destroy the inhabitants of both.  Cycnus pleaded with Jupiter to stop this destruction, and with all of creation endangered, Jupiter sent a thunderbolt toward the rampaging chariot and its occupant.  With a terrible explosion Phaethon was thrown from the chariot and the fiery steeds were stopped long enough for Helios to gain control and guide them back to their stables.  Phaethon, being mortal could not survive the force of a thunderbolt and fell to earth like a shooting star, his charred and lifeless remains landed in the river Eridanus.

Cycnus could not leave his friend to the creatures of the river to feed on, and wanted to give Phaethon a proper burial.  Cycnus dove repeatedly into the river to gather the charred remains of his friend.  Jupiter, watching this selfless display of devotion was moved, and when Cycnus had completed his task of love and honor.  Jupiter decided to give Cycnus a gift of immortality and changed his name to Cygnus and him into a glorious swan.  This swan would be placed forever in the heavens amidst the scorched path of Phaethon’s disastrous ride, the Milky Way.

There are other stories that may be related to this constellation, early Christians saw it as the Cross of Calvary and it is also known as the Northern Cross.  

More stargazing tips:

Before dawn this weekend – May 5 and 6, 2018 – the Eta Aquariid meteor shower reaches its annual peak. Here’s the bad news. A bright moon will interfere with meteor-watching. Here’s the good news. There are some tricks to watching in moonlight. 

If you’re watching in the prime hours before dawn – when the Eta Aquariid radiant point is highest in your sky, and the most meteors will be flying – try sitting in a moonshadow. That could be the shadow of a barn or large solitary tree or even a mountain, anyplace you can create some extra darkness for yourself while gazing up at an open sky.

Get out there and enjoy your friends and space!!

It’s National Wildflower week. Time to test your knowledge of native plants!  Native plants are threatened at an alarming rate due to human activity, such as urban development, agribusiness and chemical application. Over the past decades, loss of native plant communities in Central Texas has led to wildlife habitat loss, erosion, reduced genetic diversity necessary for a balanced ecosystem and a disconnection of people to the land.

These problems are compounded when native plants are replaced with non-native species in landscape plantings. The continual use of a limited palette of non-native plants readily available across the U.S. had produced a homogenized landscape susceptible to pests and diseases. Non-native species often require large amounts of water, fertilizer and herbicides for their maintenance, and those that escape cultivation and become aggressive often out-compete native plants for resources.

While preserving natural stands of native plants is important, you can help reestablish native plant communities in your yard and community by choosing to landscape with native plants as well. Regardless of the scale of the project, you can help conserve water and other natural resources while restoring and celebrating your region’s character.

But what is a plant without a pollinator? 

According to the Pollinator Partnership, between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators.

During National Wildflower Week, reflect on the plants in your region and the amazing, nearly invisible, ecosystem service that is a precious resource. The ecosystem requires attention and support. As you plant this spring, help pollinators and native plants survive. We depend on them!

Forty one years ago, Earth Day 1977, Appalachia- Science in the Public Interest filed Articles of Incorporation. Building on the growing awareness of anthropogenic impact on the environment, the organization was the first of its kind in Appalachia: using science and technology to affect change.  

When the modern environmental movement was at its genesis in the 1970’s, pollution was in plain sight. White birds turned black from soot. Smog was thick. Recycling was nascent. Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring published in 1962. It brought to light the dangerous use of a pesticide called DDT that was polluting rivers and destroying the eggs of birds of prey like bald eagles.

Then, in 1969, a large oil spill struck the coast of Santa Barbara, California. It moved then-Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin to put Earth Day on the national stage. More than 20 million people turned out.

It spurred a movement that pushed then-President Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency. In the 48 years since the first Earth Day, there have been more than 48 major environmental wins. Protections have been put in place on everything from clean water to endangered species. A federal agency was created to protect the environment; The EPA also works to protect human health. For example, lead and asbestos, once common in homes and offices, have been largely phased out of many common products.

So it seems that we’re on a pretty good track looking back over the past 41 years. A lot of our cumulative actions have had a real impact. However, as I am writing this, I am struck by my renewed sense of urgency in advocating for taking action; the current administration is rapidly dismantling policies and social norms established to protect the environment.

It’s personally terrifying to watch as decades of outreach and raising awareness that created localized change and led to changing policies can be unraveled in such a short time. I would be remiss to not mention the “Mission Accomplished” sentiment that has prevailed with Earth Day in the new millennium. This administration has proved that nothing is sacred, and crises like Flint, Houston and Puerto Rico prove that we still need to advocate for change and stand up for the earth and all it’s citizens. But that means we must still diligently work to protect the earth.
​
So for Earth Day 2018, reflect on what has been done in the past 40 years (!!) and grow hope that we can still affect change. 

We breathe cleaner air. Los Angeles, for example, was infamous for its smog back then. Air pollution there, as measured by ground-level ozone, has dropped from 0.58 parts per million to 0.151 p.p.m. Yet this happened while car-loving California drove twice as much over that period.
. . . partly because gasoline-powered cars are more fuel-efficient. In 1970, the average for cars was 13.5 miles per gallon; now it’s 22.6 m.p.g. Light trucks: 10 m.p.g. vs. 18.1 m.p.g. But the overall fuel efficiency has improved less — 13 m.p.g. vs. 20.7 m.p.g.— because a higher proportion of S.U.V.'s and pickups are on today’s highways.

The per capita use of fossil fuels has decreased. America consumed 14.7 million barrels of oil per day in 1970. It consumed 18.9 million barrels last year, a 29 percent increase. But the United States now has 54 percent more people and the economy is 15 times larger. U.S. coal consumption of 731.1 MMst in 2016 was 8.4% lower than the 2015 level. Consumption peaked in 2015, after rising from 680 MMst to 1,125 MMst since 1977. The electric power sector accounted for about 92.8% of the total U.S. coal consumption in 2016.

We recycle more. In 1970, an average American produced 3.3 pounds of trash a day; almost all of it ended up in landfills or incinerators. By 2012, that American produced 4.4 pounds each day and sent 54 percent of it to landfills or incinerators. The rest was recycled, composted or burned for energy, options that barely existed in 1970. Plastics represented only 2.6 percent of the nation’s trash in 1970 but now account for 17.6 percent, posing a particular challenge since many types of plastics neither decompose in landfills nor recycle easily.

Rivers don’t burn. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire in 1969 because it was so polluted. A survey at the time found that not a single species of fish existed in the lower part of the river, which empties into Lake Erie. Biologists recently counted 32. Average dissolved oxygen levels went from 2 milligrams per liter to above 6. Kayakers and canoers now jostle for room on the river along with ships.

The bald eagle is back. Spotting the national bird in 1970 was a rare treat. There were fewer than 800 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states in 1970. While they still can’t be taken for granted, the eagles are common along America’s waterways. The National Audubon Society, using its Christmas Bird Count, estimates there may now be more than five times as many, while federal government data suggests the population has grown more than 10 times.

But the atmosphere is still full of CFCs. At the time of the first Earth Day, chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs (among them the well-known brand Freon) were in worldwide use as refrigerants and propellants in aerosols. It wasn’t until later in the 1970s that scientists discovered their destructive effects on the ozone layer.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began tracking atmospheric concentrations of CFC-11, one of the most significant types, in 1977, measuring it at about 140 parts per trillion. That number nearly doubled, to 270 parts per trillion, in 1994 before beginning a slow decline as production was phased out and existing CFCs were replaced by other chemicals. In January 2016, the concentration measured 232 parts per trillion.

And the earth is warming. Since that first Earth Day, the world has been warming at an accelerated pace compared with prior decades, and scientists believe rising emissions of greenhouse gases are the main cause. They calculate that the world has warmed by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century, with about 1 degree of that occurring just since 1970. The warming has been sharply higher over land and in some polar regions. As a result of melting glaciers and the expansion of warmer ocean water, the sea level is rising ever faster. It rose at an average rate of 2 millimeters a year between 1971 and 2010, and even faster in the past decade, after rising at an average rate of 1.7 millimeters per year in the last century.

What to do today: 
The theme of 2018's Earth Day celebration is plastics—specifically how to decrease their unwanted impacts on our environment. What was perhaps set in place in the mid-20th century when plastic was manufactured on a large scale has come back to haunt us.

Plastic refuse is everywhere. It's bigger than Texas in the Pacific garbage patch, and it's as small as the micro plastics getting eaten by fish and churned out on our dinner plates.

Some environmental groups are leading grassroots movements to cut back on the use of common plastics like straws; the U.K. even recently proposed passing a law to ban them. Its one incremental way to cut back on the whopping 91 percent of plastic that isn't recycled.