So technically Monday was Earth Day, but really we should be actively helping to keep the Earth a better place every day, so I don’t mind being a little late to the party.

The idea for Earth Day was the brainchild of then U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson. He organized the first Earth Day after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

According to earthday.org, “Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a ‘national teach-in on the environment’ to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes from Harvard as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. April 22, falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, was selected as the date.”

Now, coming up on the 50th anniversary of that first Earth Day, we are faced with a slew of new environmental concerns. Climate Change deniers, oil lobbyists, silent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to the narrative.

I figure it this way. Until we as a country can come together and realize we have one Earth and we need to take care of it, it’s up to us as individuals to do our part.

So what can you do this Earth Day and every day to contribute to bettering the planet?

• Plant a tree or donate a tree through the ‘Canopy Project.’ (Also, Arbor Day is Friday, so that’s a great day to get out and plant a tree)
• Join a local park or river clean-up. (Like the one in Newberry on Saturday!)
• Use environmentally-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.
• Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs. Reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds a year.
• Carpool, ride your bike, use public transportation or drive an electric or hybrid car. Reduce your carbon footprint by one pound for every mile you do not drive.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and get better gas mileage. Reduce your carbon footprint 20 pounds for each gallon of gas saved.
• Teleconference instead of traveling. If you fly five times per year, those trips are likely to account for 75% of your personal carbon footprint.
• Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags, and straws.
• Recycle paper, plastic, and glass. Reduce your garbage by 10% and your carbon footprint by 1,200 pounds a year.
• Donate your old clothes and home goods instead of throwing them out. When you need something, consider buying used items.
• Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.
• Change your paper bills to online billing. You’ll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver your bills by truck.
• Read documents online instead of printing them.
• When you need to use paper, make sure it’s 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
• Set your office printer to print two-sided.
• Collect used printer, fax, and copier cartridges to recycle.
• Convince your school district or office building to choose reusable utensils, trays, and dishes in the cafeteria.
• Use reusable bottles for water, and reusable mugs for coffee.
• Bring reusable bags when you shop.
• Pack your lunch in a reusable bag.
• Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork. Buy straight from the farm, frequent your local farmers’ market, or join a local food co-op.
• Grow your own organic garden, or join a farm-share group.
• Compost kitchen scraps for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.
• Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving shower head.
• Fix leaky faucets and shower-heads.
• Run your dishwasher only when it’s full to save water and energy.
• Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.
• Wash your clothes only when necessary, use cold water and line dry.
• Pull out invasive plants in your yard or garden and replace them with native ones.
• Turn off and unplug electronics you’re not using. This includes turning off your computer at night.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room.
• Install solar panels on your roof.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator to save energy (and get exercise!).
• Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer to reduce your carbon footprint by 2,000 pounds.
• Lower the temperature on your water heater.
• Contact your utility company and find out about renewable energy options.
• Use energy-efficient appliances and electronics.