Earth Day: Looking at the Big Picture (+ Earth Day Giveaway!)

 
earth day giveawayForty two years ago, environmental protection wasn’t among the main government concerns in the U.S. There wasn’t an agency overseeing industrial activities to measure their environmental impact, and companies were freely dumping toxic waste into our waterways and industrial sites.

On April 22, 1970, concerned citizens decided to make a difference and speak up, thus launching the first Earth Day in history. In 42 years, Earth Day grew into a global movement. According to Earthday.org, “Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.”

To help people understand how small choices and changes in lifestyle can significantly impact the environment, for 2012, EarthDay.org is inviting people to commit to a single “act of green” throughout the year, and by April 22, it expects to collect One Billion Pledges from people all over the world. At the time of this writing, it has collected over 997 million.

One of the leading causes of global warming pollution in the world is energy generation and use. In the US, where approximately 40% of our power comes from coal plants, taking even small steps to save energy is one of the “greenest” things you can do to help the planet.

Small actions like replacing a single incandescent light bulb with its equivalent LED can keep 300 lbs of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, as well as mercury and other poisonous gases. It can also help to keep at least 25 conventional bulbs from being dumped in a landfill.

Understanding how your home uses and wastes energy through a comprehensive home energy audit, and then investing in energy saving upgrades is not only one of the best things you can do for the planet, it is also one of the smartest investments you will ever make, from a financial standpoint. It generally beats the stock market in terms of pay-off, increases your property value, and makes you home more affordable to own. With the added bonus of better indoor air quality and more comfort throughout the house while you live in it.

To help you get started with “greening” your home, Planetsave and Dr. Energy Saver are giving away the Energy Saver Basket (a kit full or energy-saving gifts), a copy of the Saving Energy at Home book (a comprehensive illustrated guide to home energy savings with 80 pages full of energy saving tips and ideas), plus $200 worth of referral vouchers so that you and your friends can enjoy the benefits of a greener and more energy-efficient home. That is a potential $450 value!

The winner will be selected randomly among the first readers to complete at least five of the following tasks (and let us know you did so in the comments below):

Be sure to drop us a comment on this post to let us know which 5 (or more) of the above you’ve done! You have to do so to be entered into the drawing.

In addition to the big winner, 10 additional readers will be randomly chosen to receive a free copy of Saving Energy at Home.

8 thoughts on “Earth Day: Looking at the Big Picture (+ Earth Day Giveaway!)”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top