April 22, 2012 is the 42nd annual Earth Day, which has expanded over the years to Earth Week, with eco-friendly events around the world, as more of us become aware of the impact we are having on our environment, and how we can — and should — protect it.
Be an ecoXplorer and spend your money with companies that support good, green habits – like these –
Delta Airlines is matching all carbon offset contributions made during April, up to $25,000 in total contributions, so your contribution has double the impact. Last April, Delta joined forces to contribute a record $36,358 in combined contributions to The Nature Conservancy, which helps critical wildlife habitats through forest conservation, improved forest management and reforestation.
- Click here to contribute to The Nature Conservancy. You can also contribute your Delta SkyMiles.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in 23 cities are taking part in the first-ever Kimpton EarthCare Week, April 15 – 22, 2011, with a list of eco-inspired organic menus, shopping, art exhibits, fundraising events and more. Kimpton is turning hotels in several cities into recycling centers for unwanted computer equipment and other electronics, and is giving out pedometers to challenge guests and their pets to walk instead of take taxis or drive around town. On Earth Day, Kimpton is turning out the lights in its restaurants, for wine tasting by candlelight.
In San Francisco, the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake Hotel is hosting a farmer’s market on April 21, showcasing local farmers, artisans, wineries and Kimpton chefs. In New York City, Kimpton’s The Muse Hotel is hosting an Eco Chic Boutique, featuring a collection of products from eco-friendly designers. Both events support Kimpton’s environmental partners, The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land.
Tabasco is changing its packaging worldwide to publicize the plight of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, which have been seriously impacted by ongoing erosion, damage by hurricanes, and the devastating BP oil spill. Tabasco sauce and other Tabasco pepper products are produced by the McIlhenny Company, owned and operated by the McIlhenny family for five generations, and headquartered since day one — that was 1868 — in Avery Island, Louisiana.
The “Tabasco is hot on America’s WETLAND and fired up to help save it.” will appear on all products. The message was coined by the America’s Wetland Foundation, lets everyone know that Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing at the rate of a football field every hour. Since January 1, 2012, more than 11 million square yards have been lost. You can contribute $10 to help save the crucial Louisiana wetlands by texting ‘wetland’ to 2022, and help save vital birdlife and fish habitats.
Certified scuba divers can take part in an active coral reef restoration program in Florida, with marine scientists from Key Largo’s Coral Restoration Foundation. The Earth Week program is called Sustainatopia, and it is one of the world’s largest such events, celebrating social, financial and environmental sustainability. There are three full-day diving excursions in Key Largo Friday through Sunday, April 20-22, 2012.
Participants meet for a morning training session discussing causes of coral reef decline, CRF’s role in coral restoration and how recreational divers help by volunteering. That’s followed by a two-tank guided afternoon dive to the offshore coral nursery and hands-on coral propagation and nursery maintenance activities. Cost is $100 per person and minimum age is 14.
Last Call at the Oasis— Although it’s not specifically an Earth Day or Earth Week event, this documentary film about the global water crisis is a must see. Developed, financed and produced by the same team responsible for “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Food, Inc.” and “Waiting for Superman,” Last Call at the Oasis documents how we are squandering and poisoning the world’s water supply.
Many environmentalists and activists believe water will be the central issue facing our world this century, even more than global warming. The documentary features activist Erin Brockovich. The film opens nationally May 4, 2012; I attended a preview screening recently, and saddened to see the mess we have made with industrial pollution of water supplies around the world, and how that has sickened millions of people, and encouraged by what some scientists are doing to clean up the mess.
Click here for more Earth Day events and information worldwide on the official Earth Day website.
Buyer beware warning there are other websites that sound like Earth Day 2012, but these are private, unauthorized sites to sell you products that look green but do not support Earth Day. Go green year-round, because we live on this great green earth year-round, not just on April 22nd.
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