EARTH DAY – Celebrate

Today is Earth Day. Thirty-five years ago, Americans celebrated the first Earth Day on college campuses across the country. Conceived by then Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, the first Earth Day was held to raise awareness of the state of our planet. After an article appeared in The New York Times, interest in Earth Day ballooned so that the senator’s small office staff was barely able to keep up with the inquiries and planning. In January 1970, John Gardner, founder of Common Cause, donated office space in Washington, D.C. to provide a headquarters for the staff of volunteers, mostly college students, who coordinated the nationwide event. On the first Earth Day 1970, over 20 million people participated in a national “teach-in” that was the beginning of annual events that are still celebrated today.

American farmers confront environmental issues of our planet every day. Many consider themselves stewards of this earth, caring for the soil and water by growing crops that will replenish the nutrients and avoiding herbicides so that the next generation can inherit a healthy planet.

You can do your part on this one day to do something healthy for the earth. Mayor Daley has declared April 16 –23, Earth Week with his “Keep the Earth Green by Going Blue” program.
Here is how you can participate by recycling and keeping these items out of the landfills:
1.Drop off your hazardous household waste to get a year’s supply of free blue bags.
2.Recycle your newspapers and other paper.
3.Recycle your old eyeglasses at Chicago Lenscrafters and Pearle Vision locations
4.Learn about composting at Whole Foods Markets, Garfield Park and elsewhere.
5.Recycle unwanted clothes at the Salvation Army or the Caring Closet.
6.Turn in your old cell phones to Chicago Police stations. They will be given to seniors and victims of domestic violence to use as emergency phones.
7.Encourage your school or workplace to recycle.
8.Participate in Chicago’s newest recycling program – turn in your old batteries at any Chicago Public Library or Walgreens store.
Go to the Mayor’s Web site to learn more.

Mayor Daley and his staff are committed to raising awareness of environmental problems by improving Chicago’s recycling programs. On the other hand, President Bush’s efforts to acknowledge Earth Day were thwarted by Mother Nature. The President had intended to “tout his environmental record” at an outdoor speech at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. He was forced to give his remarks in an airport hangar when severe thunderstorms canceled the White House Plans. Doesn’t the president know that it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature?