For 25 years volunteers have gathered together for Coastal Cleanup Day. The annual event takes place this year on the morning of September 15, 2012.
To volunteer in California visit the California Coastal Commission. For anywhere else visit International Coastal Cleanup.
You can also take a pledge to keep our waters trash free, and follow the event on Facebook and Twitter.
Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22, 2012, and here is the ultimate round-up of events:
National Park Week - Free entrance to all U.S. National Parks
Looking for something fun, free, and fantastic to do with family and friends?
Head out to America’s national parks where millions of stars light up the dark night sky, deer and antelope (and a few other critters!) play on the wide open range, and history is an unbelievable experience, not an exam.
And the best news? During National Park Week, April 21-29, All 397 of your national parks offer free admission, all week long!
The Nature Conservancy – Picnic for the Planet
Feel like breaking a world record? Join the Nature Conservancy in their giant Picnic for the Planet sandwich-munching extravaganza. The goal is to set a record for the largest picnic celebration ever. The picnic sites are dotted across the country.
Wyland Foundation – Pledge to Conserve Water
To mark the Clean Water Act’s 40th anniversary, the Wyland Foundation has invited cities across the nation — broken into groups by population — to compete at collecting pledges by individuals to cut down on water and energy use in the month of April.
World Wildlife Federation – Create a webpage about an Endangered Species
The World Wildlife Fund is inviting people to create their own Web pages to spotlight a favorite endangered species or cause by using W.W.F.’s easy-to-navigate software.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E)
A slideshow showcasing potentially transformative energy technologies from the 3rd annual ARPA-E summit.
Scientific American – 10 Surprising Recycling Efforts (from bras to crayons)
A slideshow, in observance of Earth Day 2012, that helps consumers move well beyond the throw-it-out mentality.
2 free iPhone apps about our National Parks
Two apps that feature national parks have arrived just in time for Earth Day. And they’re free, which goes nicely with the Saturday start of fee-free National Park Week. So download the app, pick a park to visit and go.
April 22 will mark Earth Day worldwide, an event now in its 42nd year and observed in 175 countries. The original grass-roots environmental action helped spur the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act in the United States. Gathered here are images of our planet’s environment, efforts to utilize renewable alternative sources of energy, and the effects of different forms of pollution.
NY Times – Earth Day Round-up
The holiday is Earth Day — the 43rd to be held since Gaylord Nelson, then a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, proposed that a “national teach-in” on the environment be held on April 22, 1970.
So, how best to celebrate, honor, reflect on or brood about the planet? Here are a few ideas:
In 1985 a small group of concerned citizens set off on a mission to protect the last remaining wetlands in Huntington Beach, some 147 acres out of what used to be over 3,000.
Today, their dream is coming true as the Huntington Beach Wetland Conservancy owns and has restored a majority of the land, some 100 acres from the Santa Ana River to the AES Power Plant.
The remaining pieces are a 44-acre parcel located between Newland and Beach Blvd, and a tiny triangle, some 7/10 an acre, sandwiched between the Huntington Waterfront Hilton and a new residential neighborhood. These, too, will soon be owned by the Conservancy.
Here is how that Newland Marsh looks now:
And, the restored marshes:
The difference is clearly the water.
A wetland is “the link between land and water and are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Some common names for different types of wetlands are swamp, marsh and bog.”