Mother Earth sends strong Earth Day message

In honor of the nation's 43rd Earth Day celebration on Sunday, Mother Earth treated the Jersey Shore to some much-needed rain. A rip-roaring northeaster kept many folks inside yesterday as 1.71 inches of rain pelted to the ground. But Big Mama was kind to the people, also. Earth Week celebrations (April 16 through 22) consisted of mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.

Photo via Check It Out
Earth Day is celebrated by more than 500
million people in the U.S. and by numerous
national governments around the world.

Peace activist John McConnell first proposed the idea for Earth Day in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. He believed that we as a people have a moral obligation to respect and preserve the land we inhabit. In lieu of this feeling, McConnell proposed the nation reserve a special holiday that served to honor the Earth's beauty and to remind us to treat it with kindness. He was so moved by a picture he saw of the Earth in Life magazine that it later became the symbol used for the Earth Day flag, which he designed personally.

On April 22 of the following year, then-U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson called for a nation-wide environmental teach-in after witnessing the devastation that accrued from a massive oil spill off the west coast of Santa Barbara, California. More than 20 million people participated in the event that year. Since then, Earth Day has been observed on the same day every year by more than 500 million people in the United States and by numerous national governments around the world. In 2009 the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day. Now many communities around the globe celebrate Earth Day festivities throughout the entire week, known simply as Earth Week.

Alongside many other grass roots organizations around the world, southern New Jersey’s districts held special events in reverence of the environmentally important day. The Ocean County College in Toms River held panel discussions and presentations throughout the week in the Solar Lounge and Bartlett Hall.

The Point Pleasant Borough Environmental Commission held its ninth annual Earth Day Celebration between 12 and 4 p.m. at the Riverfront Park. The day culminated with nearly 60 vendors offering food, games, rides, green products and services and even a fourth- and fifth-grade T-shirt contest, which focused on alternative methods for mosquito control.

The Kidgits Club hosted a special Earth Day event for kids at the Toms River Mall on Saturday, and the Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach held a “Party for the Planet” presentation where kids learned about the many ways they can help save the environment.

Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweeps took place up and down the Jersey Shore from Cape May County to Middlesex County on Saturday. The first Beach Sweep took place in Sandy Hook in 1985 with the help of 75 volunteers. In 2011, 7,575 volunteers showed up at nearly 70 beach sites. This year, Beach Sweeps were held at 75 different locations along the Shore.

Luckily, the cigarette butt has lost its spot as the number one piece of litter found on New Jersey’s beaches. Unfortunately, single-use plastics, which take an incredibly long amount of time to biodegrade, have been found in larger quantities. As the beach season rounds the corner, it’s important to remember that what people leave on the beach isn’t just piling up for volunteers to pick up at a later date. The waste is washing into our waterways, ill-affecting each and every living thing on the planet.

If you haven’t had enough Earth Day fun, the second annual Brick Township Green Fair will take place this Saturday, April 28, at the Veterans Memorial Middle School from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And don’t forget to look out for another Beach Sweep in October!