Yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day. Many celebrated over the weekend with festivals including food, music, and educational booths and demonstrations about sustainability and ways to help the earth. Despite Earth Day passing already, it should serve as a reminder to care about the Earth every day.

“There are people who think regularly about what they could do to help the earth and its longevity, but I think Earth Day specifically is a day where there’s a lot of volunteers and a lot of associations and clubs that go out and actually take a day to make a big difference,” senior Jack Prinzi said.

Global warming and fossil fuel emissions have been damaging to the earth, and in 2019 the United Nations put out an article about how there were only 11 years left before the damage would become irreversible.

After World War 2, the pollution of the earth has sped up year after year without government agencies doing much to help. Human usage of fossil fuels and the idea of consumerism has made it so much harder to protect the environment.

“There has been an even greater increase in human impact on the planet since World War II with the increase of fertilizers, nuclear energy, and the throw-away culture,” AP Environmental Science teacher Erin Derenbecher said. “We have changed ecosystems with agriculture, deforestation, urban development, mining, energy use, and the introduction of many forever chemicals.”

Due to trash not getting disposed of properly, there is now an island made entirely of trash out in the sea called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Much of this trash is made up of ‘forever chemicals,’ which means that this trash unless cleaned up, will stay in the ocean for an extremely long period of time. This is just one of many examples of the consequences caused by people.

While global warming is a large issue that isn’t going away any time soon, people can help slow this process. Composting, recycling, shopping sustainable items and planting trees or plants that are native to the area are great ways to start.

“At the end of the day, it is really easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged. One person can only do so much. However, corporations and governments can do much more. Get involved with your local government – advocate for things that matter to you. If you like a company’s products, but the company doesn’t have sustainable practices- reach out, and be that annoying person writing letters and calling customer service,” Derenbecher said. “Don’t be afraid to use your voice. If you don’t speak for the trees, who will?”