Today Is Earth Day And We Can Help Preserve The Planet [VIDEO]

Today is Earth Day, a day set aside to help preserve our planet. Many people in our community may be participating in group efforts cleaning  parks, removing trash along roadways, and other efforts. Here are some simple ideas than can help preserve the planet and may save you energy dollars as well.

Before driving into 96.1 ODZ today, I spent about an hour and a half cleaning stones and debris from my lawn,  and sweeping up the road from deposits of cinders and sand left by plow trucks during the winter. It wasn't that much, but the street area in front of my house looks a lot cleaner now.

Here are a few simple things we can do to help preserve the planet, from yourguidetogreen.com:

"1. Swap out your light bulbs. Why? Compact florescent light bulbs use less energy than regular old light bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to ten times longer.

2. Plant a tree or three. Trees remove CO2 from the air and help fight global warming. They produce oxygen, give us shade in the summer, and provide a home for your neighborhood birds.

3. Turn off lights and unplug cell phone chargers. Your chargers are using electricity even though your electronic devices are not connected to them.

4. Carry your own water bottle. Reduce the amount of plastic water bottle waste in the world by carrying your own.

5. Try doing "conscious" laundry. Instead of saving those piles of laundry for your Saturday or Sunday afternoon, do it at night when energy costs are lower."

For more ideas, visit yourguidetogreen.com.

Denis Hayes is credited as the coordinator of the first Earth Day back in 1970. Here's how it came about, according to Wikipedia:

"Denis Hayes is an environmental activist and proponent of solar power. He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day. Hayes founded the Earth Day Network and expanded it to more than 180 nations.

The first Earth Day (April 22, 1970) had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, about ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities."

Here are some thoughts on Earth Day 2014, from the first Earth Day Chairman, Denis Hayes.