Earth Day and caring for the planet we share.

What on earth (day) is happening?

Earth Day: On April 22 every year, over one billion partake in Earth Day. All over the world, individuals, entire communities, various organizations, and different world governments take a pause from the regularly scheduled program, and pay much needed attention to the amazing planet we call home and also take action to protect it.

Today we have farmers in Kansas battling prolonged drought which has been decimating crops, fisherman who’s nets come up empty or at best, only a shadow of what they used to be, children along the east coast, New Jersey in particular, who lost their homes to a super-storm, children in Nepal, Ethiopia and many other places, unable to get clean water.

What is happening on this planet right now is not just threatening us, as humans.

There are polar bears drowning or starving from not being able to make it from one ice float to another due to increased melting rate at the poles, tiger’s survival in India being threatened, brush fires caused by drought burning huge swathes of wildlife on the USA’s west coast, and far many more environmental and climate related situations.

It’s affecting more and more people every day.

For many, climate change and these environmental issues can seem hazy, or far away – some complex, unrelated issues that are “probably being taken care of by various governments or organizations”, and besides, your grandchildren will probably fix it. But that may only be because they have been fortunate enough to not have been exposed to what’s really happening on this planet and with climate change, the connected environmental impacts, and the plethora of other planet-sized disservices that occur daily. These problems, with the increasing population on this planet are only going to grow exponentially, they affect not only the animal and plant kingdom, they affect our natural resources,  sources on which we all depend.

Fortunately we also have people on this planet with passion that burns with a purpose to reverse a very daunting dwindling spiral effect with the environment.

Every individual who composts, those who are using cleaner energy, the people who are recycling and not throwing that glass bottle into the trash, who decided their commute wasn’t too long and decided to bike to work, those who are tirelessly working on finding out how to get more energy from solar panels, those who are working out new cleaner forms of energy, individuals assisting those in need of clean water or food to eat. These people are the ones that are making a positive impact on this planet. Our planet. Planet Earth.

On this day, April 22, 2013, over a billion people all around the world will be taking part in the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day. From New York to Beijing, and from Helsinki in Finland to Melbourne in Australia, individuals and entire communities all over the world are rising up, speaking up, and acting towards positive environmental change.

What can you do to help?

Well, there are a few things actually…okay, maybe more than a few. You could go out and pick up trash in your neighborhood, join in an existing group of environmentally-conscious individuals and start lending a hand,  start “voting green” (vote for things that positively affect our environment and help people), think about your energy use and how to lower it, support companies that are environmentally friendly, and actively are working to help the environment and people, this will encourage other business to do so as well. You can go out and help plant some trees, or go to the beaches and assist with the planting of shrubs and bushes that will help prevent erosion.

There are a lot of things you can do. For instance we, Minovi Dental, donated to two different charities that are giving children in several different countries clean water they they otherwise would not have access to. I mean, can you imagine facing the risk of becoming extremely ill every time you took a drink of water, or having to spend every day walking 3 to 5 miles in order to collect the water that could make you sick? In some places in the world you don’t really have the choice or option of clean water. Those of us who have this privilege don’t usually consider how lucky we are to be able to get water at the sink, or go to the water fountain for a quick thirst quencher. Today, over 800 million people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Water-borne illnesses are the second leading cause of death in children, in developing countries. Lack of access to water also poses a problem for agriculture, which is often a source of the food supply for rural villages in the developing world. Increasing access to clean and safe drinking water not only decreases rates of child mortality but also builds a stronger and more healthy community.

Through the fundraising efforts at William & Mary we have worked with Charity: Water, a non-profit organization dedicated to this cause, in order to help make a meaningful difference. We also donated to Water For People.They will be riding this year’s 40-mile 5 Boro Bike Tour across NYC’s 5 boroughs to pay tribute and raise money for those millions around the world that have to do it everyday; mount their bicycles and ride long distances to collect clean water for their families.

Get out there!

Really, as long as everyone is out doing something on this Earth Day 2013, or contributing in some way, you will FEEL the difference, you will SEE the difference, it will be amazing. Such a shoulder to the wheel effort doesn’t happen in such a magnitude very often. It’s our chance on this day to really show what humanity means, and what HUMANITY can do!

As the famous Mahatma Gandhi once said:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

That means a lot if you think about it. Set a good example, help those in need, work towards making this, Earth, our home, cleaner. This is Earth Day 2013. What are you doing to help?

Stay healthy my friends…and help our planet and others do the same as well.