rant till you can't

earth day: meriam

As you may or may not know, Earth day is on April 22. In honor of that this week is dedicated to our beautiful Earth !

EARTH DAY HISTORY

The first ever Earth day was about 46 years ago in 1970. It is said that the founder of Earth day, Gaylord Nelson, after witnessing the damage done by a massive 1969 oil spill in Santa Monica, California was inspired to create and organize a national "teach-in" that focused on educating the pubic on the environment.

EARTH DAY HEROS

A lot of people dream of saving the world and saving our Earth, including me. But a lot of us don't know how or where to start or feel like no matter we do, we won't cause a difference. But once we get past that fear and passionately and persistently pursue something we desperately believe in, we will truly start making a difference. These kids are a prime example of just that.

Here are some stories taken from People Magazine.

Erek Hansen, 12: 'The Denim Recycler'

Erek Hansen started recycling his own worn jeans at age 8 after reading how they could be made into home insulation. Then he organized drives that collected thousands of pairs, which became insulation for communities rebuilding after natural disasters. "I had no idea it would get this big," says the Curtice, Ohio, seventh grader. Adds Juliana Sample, head of Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful, which promotes his drives: "He's obviously some kid!"

Cassandra Lin, 15: Turning Cooking Oil into Fuel

Cassandra Lin didn't start out "green," just worried about her Westerly, R.I., neighbors who couldn't afford heat in winter. After seeing a science expo exhibit on turning old cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, she rounded up five friends to collect some. "Our first stop was a nursing home," says Lin. "The guy looked kinda surprised - I mean, we were fifth graders - but he signed up." Calling themselves TGIF ("Turn Grease into Fuel"), they enlisted a refinery and to date have donated some 21,000 gallons of fuel to 210 families. That amounts to an offset of more than 400,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions. Says Lin: "We helped solve two problems at once."

Gabrielle Posard, 16: Founded Donate Don't Dump

Hearing that one in six Americans don't get enough to eat - while so much good food rots in landfills - "really upset me," says Gabrielle Posard, from Encinitas, Calif. At age 12, she started talking to grocers about donating food that was near its sell-by date. Since then, her group Donate Don't Dump has kept 800,000 lbs. of food from emitting greenhouse gases and provided 650,000 meals to the hungry. "What she's done is amazing," says Michael Lawson, director of a local food bank. Her explanation? "I'm pretty stubborn."

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"The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share." -Lady Bird Johnson

All the love
Meriam 🌎💚