April 22 marks
the anniversary of what many earth enthusiasts consider the birth of the modern
environmental movement, which officially began in 1970. The year of 1970 also
brought other significant pop culture events including the death of Jimi
Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over
Troubled Water.” Yes, the year of 1970 brought many angry protests, but the
environment was not the primary concern. There is no denying that at that time
Americans were carelessly overfilling their gas tanks, pollution was a sign of
prosperity, and the word “environment” was one found in a dusty dictionary not
on the evening news.
Earth Day
celebrations in 1970 exploited the energy of anger anti-war protesters and
found a cult following in the people proud to be labeled as “hippie.” 20 million
Americans took part and flocked to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to
demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable, and clean environment. Today, the fight
for a clean environment continues with an increasing urgency.
In effort to
extend the awareness beyond April 22 and continue our support to a healthy,
sustainable, and clean environment we planted a tree and pledge to leave the
plastic at home during weekly grocery trips. True, a small, seemingly insignificant
action and pledge…The numbers may surprise you—and who knows change your mind
about planting a tree or leaving your plastic at home:
One Tree:
-An average size
tree produces enough oxygen in one year to keep a family of four breathing.
-Trees increase
the value of property. Houses surrounded by trees sell for 18-25 percent higher
than houses with no trees.
-Three trees
planted in the right place around a house can cut air-conditioning costs up to
50 percent.
-Hospital
patients who have a view of trees heal faster, use fewer pain medications, and
leave the hospital sooner than patients with a view of a brick wall.
-A Tree in the
landscape relaxes us, lower heart rates, and reduces stress.
One Plastic Bag:
-Plastic bags
kill 200 thousand animals annually.
-Plastic bags
are non-biodegradable and take about 1000 years for them to degrade.
-The UK, banning
plastic bags would be the equivalent of taking 18,000 cars off the roads each
year.
-It takes
approximately 60-100 million barrels of oil to make the world’s plastic bags
each year, increasing the United States; dependence on foreign sources of
energy.
An easy task
(i.e., planting a tree), a mindful modification (i.e., leaving your plastic at
home), or both can make anyone’s footprint smaller, a lot smaller. Below is a
picture our beautiful tree; can you feel your heart rate lowers and the stress
of your day melting away?
e&e
