Earth Day 2006

Saturday, April 22nd Is Earth Day. What Are You Doing To Save Our Planet?

Earth Day. Started 36 years ago in 1970 -- before many of you were born -- and still going strong among those who believe that our planet is held by us in trust for future generations.

Since that first Earth Day, we've managed to put more holes in the Ozone layer than there are in a teenager's jeans, driven thousands of species in the animal and plant kingdom into extinction, made much of the world's drinking water unpotable, and deforested entire rainforests in the name of progress.

Still, inroads to protect and restore the environment are being made, notwithstanding what is often viewed as the best efforts of government and private industry to destroy it.

And while there remains much to be done on many fronts, there is just as much you can do -- locally -- to be a friend of planet Earth.

The Earth Day Network provides "Earth Day In A Box," enabling and ennobling the citizens of this blue sphere as we endeavor to clean up our act.

Why, even the Town of Hempstead (known better for killing trees -- to produce countless Murraygrams -- than for planting and maintaining them) is involved, offering up it's SPLASH program to help keep our water clean and clear, Geese Peace, to keep the waterways and green spaces pristine while humanely reducing the excess bird population, and innovative initiatives like S.T.O.P. and e-Cycling that encourage residents to reuse, recycle and reclaim.

Here on Long Island, where we tap into underground aquifers for the water we drink, cook with, and bathe in, we must be particularly mindful of our environment. After all, the fertilizer, herbicide, and insecticide we put on our lawns or down our drains today will, in the not too distant future, end up in our children's drinking water.

And so, we look into ways we can make Long Island -- and, while we're at it, planet Earth -- a greener, healthier, more livable place. Organic gardening. Proper disposal of toxic waste. Less reliance on the automobile.

As we act locally, we must continue to think globally, lobbying government, on all levels, to address the critical issues that impact upon our environment, from global warming to nuclear proliferation.

Earth Day isn't just for Hippies who are now poised to collect their first Social Security checks. Earth Day is for EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, EVERY DAY.

Be kind to Mother Earth. Be environmentally conscious. Future generations are counting on YOU to heal our planet!