Jillian Beaudry

Editor in Chief

Stacey Barchenger

Managing Editor

The average person might pass by the date April 22 as just another day. This year, it was a Tuesday, which means many students likely went about their daily routines without noticing two tiny words printed on their day planners:
Earth Day.

Earth Day began in 1970, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site, was supported by over 20 million Americans that year. The purpose of establishing the day was to increase environmental awareness, but now it has grown to much more. 

It is not only a national awareness day; now it is also a global action day. Action can (and should) be taken on many different levels, by individuals, families, interest groups, businesses and local and national governments.

If Google can redecorate the logo on its Web site, completely eliminating its usual primary
colors in exchange for a nearly monochromatic green scene of rocks covered in thriving moss, a creek, a turtle and a Bonsai tree, a student can take five seconds and shut off the light in his or her room or apartment, right?

In nearly four decades, the EPA has sponsored bills and legislation that seek to improve the environment on a national level. But, as stressed by the Web site, much can be done at the individual and grassroots levels.

One of Linfield’s most prominent clubs, Greenfield, has been tabling around campus and sponsoring the Campus Climate
Challenge, a week-long contest aimed at making students more aware of their energy consumption. The winner of the challenge is the Residence Hall or suburb housing unit that decreases its energy consumption by the largest percentage.

Club President Duncan Reid said the club has increased its activities this week to change Earth Day into a sort of Earth Week.

Personally, Reid makes changes and stresses the importance of making environmentally conscious decisions. For example, he doesn’t use disposal drinking devices—think Styrofoam and plastic cups—to help the environment. The most important thing, he said, is to make conscious choices and be aware of the impacts of those choices.

If students aren’t ready to give up those red and white plastic beer pong cups, it’s OK. Re-use them; the game is dirty anyway.

Find other ways to reduce your environmental footprint, and maybe save the college some money.

Turn off the lights when you leave your room. Turn off your computer at night. And please, most importantly of all, recycle. With mixed recycling on campus, no one is eligible for the lazy excuse anymore.

It isn’t about numbers in the case of helping the environment, and the date shouldn’t matter. Students should consider how their daily decisions affect the
environment.

This is not a crusade to stop global warming. It is a call to action for all Linfield students to follow the lead of Greenfield to help the environment. Every day should be Earth Day.