Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Get Ready for Earth Day! 4/22/2009

Earth Day is easier than ever to link up with; you can use the Earth Day Network to look for Earth Day events near you, or by interesting keyword. They have a blog, with entries from around the world --including a cool one from Tokyo. There is a GreenPeace YouTube video call to arms. There are educational packets, and items to buy to help support programs, and links to help call Congress or your national legislative body to press them to move away from coal power. There is a strong (are you surprised?) political bent here, but it is a very informative and useful site. It's interestingly international; if you follow the link to their Ning location, you can find groups in Hungary, Bulgaria, "Greater China," and Jordan as well as locations across the U.S.

There is also the official U.S. government portal, at http://www.earthday.gov/, which is less ax-grinding. It has lists of ideas to "Take Action on Your Own." But these are less about confronting whaling ships or calling Congress, and more about carpooling and taking public transit, recycling, learning about the issues, and volunteering. It's an interesting list. It's also all American, all the time. It's a group effort across government agencies (it says so, at the bottom of the page!).

There is a separate Earth Day page from the EPA, an agency looking for redemption in the new administration, if ever there was one. This page offers a history of Earth Day, and options in EspaƱol. There is a nice map of the U.S., with regions so you can select your area to locate Earth Day events and volunteer opportunities near you. This site also offers lists of simple things to do to to help the environment at home, work and school. It does not include things like calling Congress. But it DOES teach you how to be informed on proposed regulations and how to comment on them. I thought this was very interesting. It's not at the top of of a page. You have to click down several levels to reach it, but I applaud the EPA for educating the citizenry.

Then, there are the "usual suspects" of the environmental movement:

World Wildlife Foundation

National Wildlife Federation

Sierra Club

Greenpeace (which is referencing Twitter feeds) Cheers, Earthday, which is tomorrow!

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