Every year on April 22nd, we unify to celebrate the birth of an environmental movement, Earth Day! We gathered 30 actionable steps that you can implement into your life today to help make a difference and improve our global climate and environment. Whether they are big initiatives or small steps, every little bit of help for our environment takes us in the right direction. 

How to Celebrate Earth Day

  1. Join a local park, river or beach clean-up. 
  2. Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.
  3. Bring reusable bags when you shop.
  4. Use environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.
  5. Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs. 
  6. Keep your tires properly inflated and get better gas mileage. Reduce your carbon footprint 20 pounds for each gallon of gas saved.
  7. Change your car’s air filter regularly.
  8. Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags and straws.
  9. Recycle paper, plastic, and glass. 
  10. Donate your old clothes and home goods instead of throwing them out. When you need something, consider buying used items.
  11. Change your paper bills to online billing. You’ll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver your bills by truck.
  12. Read documents online instead of printing them.
  13. Collect used printer, fax, and copier cartridges to recycle.
  14. Convince your school district or office building to choose reusable utensils, trays, and dishes in the cafeteria.
  15. Use reusable bottles for water, and reusable mugs for coffee.
  16. Grow your own organic garden, or join a farm-share group.
  17. Compost kitchen scraps for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.
  18. Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving showerhead.
  19. Fix leaky faucets and showerheads.
  20. Run your dishwasher only when it’s full to save water and energy.
  21. Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.
  22. Volunteer for a local environmental group and/or make a donation.
  23. Pull out invasive plants in your yard or garden and replace them with native ones.
  24. Turn off and unplug electronics you’re not using. 
  25. Turn off lights when you leave a room.
  26. Take the stairs instead of the elevator to save energy (and get exercise!).
  27. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer to reduce your carbon footprint by 2,000 pounds.
  28. Use energy-efficient appliances and electronics.
  29. Recycle batteries from small appliances and your electronics. Use rechargeable batteries instead!
  30. Spend time outside and enjoy the beauty of nature!

Take Action Towards a Healthy Planet

According to earthday.org, “more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.” Even if you choose just one of the activities mentioned above, you are taking strides in the right direction to help restore the planet.

If you’d like to get involved even more, find an Earth Day event near you on the official Earth Day website or check out these creative ways Texans can celebrate Earth Day!