Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day!

Today marks 50 years of Earth Day and while we have been celebrating this day for a while, we have never had an Earth Day quite like this one.

According to Earthday.org during the first Earth Day back in 1970, 20 million Americans, ten percent of the U.S. population at the time, took to the streets and college campuses to protest and demand a new way forward for our planet.

Things have changed a lot since the 70s and this year, we find ourselves in a global pandemic. The novel Coronavirus has forced industries to reduce output and families to shelter-in-place which officials from Plastic Free Gulf Coast say might be a positive thing for Mother Earth. Plastic Free Gulf Coast Project Leader Elizabeth Englebretson said, “As we are sequestered in our homes, praying that our loved ones and neighbors are safe and also watching our planet heal in this short time period from basically the destruction brought by humans. I hope that people are taking some time to reflect on how really connected we are to our planet and how important it is for us to be good stewards of our home.”

NASA says satellites have found decreases in one air pollutant over China due to decreases in industrial, transportation, and business activity due to the Coronavirus.