April 22 is Earth Day Each year, Earth Day -- April marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement.

Environmental Movement Begins 1962 Up until this time, much of America ignored environmental concerns 1962: Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring The book spurred on the modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries Ms. Carson raised public awareness and concern for all living things, the environment, and public health.

America in the ‘60s At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, Protest was the rage, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

The First Earth Day: April 22, 1970

The First Earth Day: 1970 Earth Day 1970 channeled the energy of the anti-war protest movement It put environmental concerns front and center.

Some of Today’s Environmental Issues Garbage Plastics Glass Paper Forests Water Air

Not-so-Fun Facts: Garbage The average American produces more than four pounds of garbage per day. Over the course of a year, that is more than 1,600 pounds of garbage per person. Almost half of the food in the U.S. goes to waste - ~ 3,000 lbs. per second…per second!

Plastic In 2012, the U.S. produced 32 million tons of plastic. – Only 9% was recovered for recycling. It takes about 450 years for plastic beverage bottles to break down in a landfill. The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle can power a computer for 25 minutes. Plastic Debate: Ban Bottled Water? Plastic

Plastics in our Oceans Every square mile of the oceans contains more than 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. About 8 million metric tons of plastic goes into the ocean each year. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California and is the largest ocean garbage site in the world. – This floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life 6:1 Plastic

Glass It takes approximately 1 million years for a glass bottle to break down in a landfill. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle will operate a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Producing glass from new materials requires 30% more energy than using used glass.

Paper Americans use about 69 million tons of paper and paperboard each year. Preventing one ton of paper waste saves between 15 and 17 mature trees. By recycling 1 ton of paper, we save enough energy to heat a home for six months.

Wood and Forests Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale. Forests the size of Panama are lost each year. The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to money or to people’s need to provide for their families. The biggest driver of deforestation: agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often many small farmers clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them -- “slash and burn” agriculture. Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests—which leads to further deforestation. change/ change/

Deforestation: Negative Effects Loss of habitat for millions of species. – Seventy percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, – Many cannot survive deforestation that destroys their homes. Climate change. – Forest soils are moist, but without protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. – Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into the atmosphere. – Without trees to fill these roles, many former forest lands can quickly become barren deserts. Greenhouse Gasses – Fewer forests means larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of global warming – Trees play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming.

Water Almost 97% of the world's water is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers. Only 1% is usable for agriculture, manufacturing, and personal needs. The average American uses about 100 gallons of water per day and more than 100,000 gallons of water per year. an.com/how-the-average- american-wastes-water/ an.com/how-the-average- american-wastes-water/

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of plant and animal species. But UNESCO has threatened to place it on the World Heritage in Danger list. Watch the video to find out why. Great Barrier Reef Queensland, AU (aerial view)Diving among the coral in the reef

Air Pollution

Clear our Air Here’s a good website to explain all the ways we pollute our air:

Be Kind to Mother Earth What Can We Do? (Time for Kids) Be Kind to Mother Earth What Can We Do? sues/04_23_12/book#/22 Junior Scholastic Earth Day Info sues/04_23_12/book#/22

It has been 45 years today since the first celebration of Earth Day! Today we will look at our own environmental behaviors by taking a quiz. The quiz will tell us what our “carbon footprint” is and how we can reduce it! Here’s the link: