Earth Day is a day that is intended to create awareness for the earth’s natural environment, and is internationally celebrated on April 22nd. Many people overlook the importance of Earth Day, and very few people actually take time to help our great planet on this holiday.

Earth Day began on April 22nd of 1970, and was celebrated throughout much of the United States’ populated areas. After the years went on, it started to spread to the more rural areas. The United Nations soon accepted Earth Day as an international holiday. Ever since it was established internationally, there have been many flags and symbols created and designed by many people around the world who were concerned about the earth’s natural environment. Through the support of many television programs and articles in newspapers and magazines, Earth Day was becoming a more popular holiday. However, many people do not put effort into helping the earth on April 22nd.

Why should you help the earth during Earth Day, or during any other day of the year? – The importance of keeping our planet healthy is critical to the survival of human beings, plants, and animals. Since 1600, more than 700 species of plants and animals have gone extinct due to pollution, introduction of foreign species, over hunting, over fishing, and human oppression. These creatures can no longer exist on this planet because, once extinct, there is no way for them to come back. Many animals are also endangered, which means they have a high risk of becoming extinct. There are about 400 endangered species of animals in the United States alone, and there are about 130 threatened species.

Also, pollution is deteriorating the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a part of the atmosphere which blocks the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays from affecting Earth’s plants and animals. If the ozone layer fully disappears, the sun’s harmful rays will negatively affect life on Earth by withering plants and causing humans and animals to develop cancer at higher rates. The earth is also losing resources because of population growth and the over harvesting of certain materials.

What will happen to us if we don’t help the earth? - If we didn’t care about Earth, then the world would spin out of control like a merry-go-round. But, it wouldn’t be so merry. Many people in the future might not know what a tiger is, or what an elephant looks like. Every creature on this planet is very important to the balance and well-being of the ecosystem. This balance is like a blanket, and each species is a thread. As each species is becoming extinct, a thread is plucked from the blanket. The blanket will rip in half over time if all of the threads are plucked. Therefore, if we continue to overlook the importance of earth day and let animals become extinct, the balance of the earth will no longer be present.

Another scenario would be if we ran out of natural resources. If there was no oil, ordinary cars would not exist. Scientists could try to invent a new type of car, but it would take an extremely long time to come up with an idea, make the car, and test it before it could finally be sold to the public.

How can people participate during earth day? – To help endangered animals such as big cats, elephants, bald eagles, whales, caribou, polar bears, and endangered plants such as ladies’ slippers and Hawaiian hibiscus, gather family, friends, and communities to help clean parks and neighborhoods. Donating to wildlife federations is also a good idea. If Earth Day is sunny, go outside and plant native species in your garden. If gardening isn’t your thing, put out a bird feeder and enjoy songsters flocking to your yard. Conserve your resources, too. The more you save and the less you use the better. Most importantly, try to recycle. Recycling is the best thing to do on Earth day because we get the best out of our natural resources by re-using products that we bought from stores. If you see somebody throwing an empty can of soda into a trash can, politely ask them to take it out and put it into a recycling bin instead. If they don’t listen, a normal person would probably want to push them in the trash can! Be better than normal, recycle it yourself.

If you are already planning to do something great on Earth Day, stick with that plan and try your hardest to help the earth. If you aren’t planning to help the earth on Earth Day, either you’re not human or you didn’t really pay attention to this article.

Even though Earth Day, which is on April 22nd, is overlooked by many people, it is a very important holiday. Actually, its meaning is key in the existence of our planet. April 22nd isn’t April Fool’s day, it’s Earth Day. So please, don’t make Earth Day a joke. Make Earth Day a radical reorientation of the way you look at our planet.