How to get involved this Earth Day and every day!

It’s time to start setting your Earth Day resolutions!

So, Earth Day is approaching this month on April 22nd and you might be wondering how you can use your powers for the good of Mama Earth, not just today but every day of the year. Consider this your call to action to get your hands dirty in protecting the environment. Earth day is like New Years Day for citizens of the earth, when we set our actionable goals and envision sustainable steps forward in our climate conscious lives. There’s some mighty power behind Earth Day and the advocacy it sparks. So far, we’ve seen the passage of monumental environmental laws in the U.S., including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. And since the 70’s, millions of Americans have mobilized each year on Earth Day and this movement has snowballed into the planet’s largest civic event.

We all do our best to support the protection of our environment and our community by building more ethical and sustainable habits into our everyday lives. Sadly, without enough momentum, many of the giants we fight stay strong in their nasty habits and disingenuous corporate promises to reduce environmental impacts. As Denis Hayes, Earth Day Founder, put it “Despite that amazing success and decades of environmental progress, we find ourselves facing an even more dire, almost existential, set of global environmental challenges, from loss of biodiversity to climate change to plastic pollution, that call for action at all levels of government.” 

SO TELL US, how do we get involved on Earth Day and every day? Okay let’s jump right in Ethos fam, here we go:

Sign the Plastic Free President petition to urge President Biden to take major action in the first year in office, in addition to the ten steps proposed by #ClimatePresident.

Switch to reusables, think about one of the plastic items you frequently toss in the trash and find the reusable alternative. Do you already carry a reusable straw or utensil set?

Join the monthly “Love Your Mother” letter-writing campaign hosted by Ethos Santa Cruz (@ethossantacruz) and Klara (@sustainability.student) on Instagram Live on the last Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. PST.

Participate in a beach cleanup on your own or through the Save Our Shores Marine Debris app.

Listen to planet-wise podcasts like “How to Save the Planet” with journalist Alex Blumberg and scientist and policy nerd Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

Choose bike or foot over car where possible. Every time you make this choice, you reduce your carbon footprint.

Read a revolutionary environmental book from the Ethos Lending Library, Santa Cruz Library or your local bookstore. Some of our favorites are Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer, Sage Magazine, Plastic Free, and Zero Waste Home.

Understand how the climate crisis disproportionately affects marginalized people and areas. Check out the Intersectional Environmentalist Learning Hub to grasp the immense number of ways social justice and environmentalism intersect.

Follow climate-justice voices in the environmental movement on social media. Here are some of our favorite environmental educators:  @ayanaeliza, @intersectionalenvironmentalist, @climatediva, @greengirlleah, @queerbrownvegan, @energy_justice

Watch an interesting and educational documentary like “A Plastic Ocean”, “Blue The Film” and “The Story of Stuff,” “Unbreathable- The Fight For Healthy Air” or sit down with a family friendly film with environmental themes like, “Princess Mononoke.

Donate to an environmental organization like Plastic Pollution Coalition to help work toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, waterways, the ocean and the environment.

Remember, you vote with your wallets, and the choices you make for yourself with  friends and family affect the way they see the world. Join us in finding ways big and small to make a positive impact. Go forth sweet climate caretakers and live out your ethos!

Love, Ethos