Turning on the light, using the faucet, and throwing away trash are normal tasks that we participate in every day. But we may not understand how much these tasks negatively affect the environment. Landfills have polluted our earth, and electricity from lights and water heaters burns coal causing fossil fuel emissions. Climate change is increasing at an alarming rate which has caused various environmental movements to occur through the decades. Earth Day is one of the many movements that has erupted because of climate change. Founded in 1970, it was established as a day for humans to give back to the environment by participating in various activities that will protect and save the world. As an environmentalist, I find this day is an amazing opportunity for people to support the environment and work together in the fight against climate change and it has proven to be effective.

Various acts and organizations were founded and passed to save the environment as a result of Earth Day, according to Amy Buxton in her “What is Earth Day” article. The United States Environmental Protection Agency passed the National Environmental Education Act and the Clean Air Act to support the efforts. These acts are successful because they require the U.S. public health service to create techniques to control air pollution and increase environmental literacy around the world according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency in their articles on the Clean Air Act and National Environmental Education Act. Not only were acts passed yet it’s proven that a billion people around the world clean up trash, participate in protests, plant trees, and embark on various other activities to protect the environment, as explained by Buxton.

Earth Day is effective and makes a difference in the world; however, the issue behind it is that it’s only one day in the entire year when people go out and make a difference. 37. 12 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide was released in the year 2021 and it increases each year according to Statistca’s article on annual carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. That amount of carbon dioxide will not be mitigated in one day. There are 2 billion tons of trash in the world according to the World Bank that again can not be removed in one day. Besides environmentalists and scientists after Earth Day people do not continue their environmental practices, which means Earth Day makes a small dent in saving the environment. There need to be consistent efforts being made throughout the year to support the environment.

In only one day an entire organization and two policies were created because of the community coming together. Imagine what can happen when there are more Earth Days? The world should come together not only on April 22nd but on a specific day each month. This will result in more acts being passed to support the fight against climate change, less trash being cast because of clean-ups, and fewer carbon emissions. It may seem like a small step towards greatness but if this erupts and becomes successful it can make a huge difference. The only way we’re going to save the world is together.