Earth Day is a globally celebrated holiday with almost one billion people participating since 1970. After that, every year has had a theme from the first being “Give Earth a Chance” to this year’s theme “Our Power, Our Planet.” All these efforts are aimed to increase environmental conservation and save our Earth.
In terms of climate change, the last decade (2014-2023) set a record high of being the ten warmest years ever. However the problems don’t end there, as climate change has worsened, leading to issues such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. The theme “Our Power, Our Plant” has a goal of shifting from fossil fuels, that have negative impacts on Earth and human health, to renewable energy. Examples of these renewable energy types are solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and tidal energy, with activists hoping to increase clean electricity by 70-80% by 2030.
Another major part of the theme is taking collective action with individuals, organizations, businesses and governments. For students, whether they are passionate about the environment or not, there are simple ways they can pitch in to improve the world. Students at Heritage are involved in their own communities by participating in activities from beach cleans ups to advocacy within the state.
Sophomore Ava Kavan, president of the Marine Biology club, has been involved in Earth Day since seventh grade. “I knew the club hosted beach cleanups so I started going and it made me realize that it’s such a big issue,” Kavan said.
Another example is junior Sasha Kay Lindo who is part of a local nonprofit called Broward Sierra Group that contributes to the environment by collaborating with members of local, state and federal governments to promote change. “This past year, members of our team even lobbied in Tallahassee to talk to senators about possible environmental policies they could enact,” Lindo said.
Other than school and community involvement, there are other ways students can contribute to benefit the Earth. Some ways include taking a second to think before doing basic things that could have a long term effect, including recycling into the right bins and using paper instead of plastic. A few examples of ways you can help today include turning off the water while brushing your teeth, turning off lights when leaving a room, unplugging electronics when not in use, walking and biking places or planting a tree. It only takes one action to impact the environment.
At the Summer of Heat event, juniors Elizabeth Schenker, Sasha Kay Lindo and Anagha Iyer (left to right) spread awareness about environmentally unfriendly corporations, asking them to stop doing the harmful actions. “We would ask Publix to stop giving plastic bags, and instead promote reusable bags,” Lindo said. (Photo/Leah Weisburd)
