Earth Day and Sustainability

By: Olivia Gorum

Every year on April 22nd, I find myself scrolling through social media, viewing all of the jaw-dropping photos of places on our planet. The photos are usually accompanied with countless tags and captions with titles like “Earth appreciation day!”. I often find myself having to remember that what’s important is not the lavish travels and perfectly timed photos, but that as a global community we come together to celebrate the environmental movement and raise awareness about pollution and ways to maintain a clean habitat. Earth Day is an annual event, first held in 1970. Although it has many peculiar facts and quirks, such as having its own flag and anthem, what is truly incredible about this event is that every year all over the world, groups and communities all gather and work to give back to our planet. 

In this day and age, there are so many actions that we as a community can take to further conserve and protect our environment. One of these is working collectively to obtain a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability is defined as the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance, which for many is pretty reasonable. Some tips on ways to live more sustainably are using reusable alternatives for instance water bottles and paper or metal straws, practicing good recycling habits, and even simply making an effort to eat more locally. As a community it is important to continue to work towards conserving our planet in smaller ways so that together we can make a difference. Let’s be kinder to our planet because as far as we know it's the only one we have! Make everyday Earth Day.