Earth Day

Since it's April, I'm going to make E about the earth. After all Earth day is April 22nd. In case you didn't know.  Personally, I love the earth, not in the "tree hugging hippie" kinda way but like the "why the heck are you putting that in a landfill and not recycling it?" or "stop littering kinda way".  I've even been known to pick up litter on my late night walks home from local establishments.  I don't really understand why people want trash just laying all around the world.  I think earth day is just a good way to step back and remember how much we should appreciate the earth whether you plant trees (like I did while student teaching last year), participate in a roadside clean-up, or just breathe in some good clean air that the earth's atmosphere is providing.

Here are some Earth Day facts I dug up:

• Earth Day was first observed on April 22, 1970 in Wisconsin. An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended the inaugural event.
• Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion people participating in the proceedings.
• Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries, and coordinated by the Earth Day Network, a nonprofit organization founded by the organizers of the first April 22 Earth Day in 1970.
• In many cities, the Earth Day celebrations are extended to Earth Week, an entire week of activities related to the promotion of activities related to the preservation of Earth. The Earth Week usually start on April 16, and end on Earth Day, April 22nd

By the numbers...

20 million: Number of people who celebrated the first Earth Day

200 million: Number of people who celebrated Earth Day in 1990

500 million: Number of people who celebrated Earth Day in 2000

175: Number of countries worldwide that celebrate a designated Earth Day 

3.7 billion: World population in 1970

6.7 billion: World population in 2009

65.2 million: Number of Google hits for "Earth Day"

146 million: Number of Google hits for "Green Day"