How to Celebrate Earth Day 2022

One of the most direct ways to make a positive impact on Earth Day is to get out there and clean up your neighborhood. With a proper mask, social distancing, and the right tools, you can safely pick up trash in your neighborhood. Picking up litter in your neighborhood not only makes it look nice and clean, it can also help to protect local wildlife and ecosystems. You can even recruit a few friends or family to help. Cleaning up your local area is also a great way to set an example for others. Look out for clean up events in your neighborhood or start your own!

Neighborhood Cleanup Tool Checklist

• Proper mask (preferably reusable)
• Bucket and/or bag
• Comfortable shoes
• Grabber arm or litter stick
• Hand sanitizer
• Eco-friendly water bottle to stay hydrated

Livestock produces a significant amount of methane. Cutting back on the amount of meat you eat per week will help decrease greenhouse gasses. In celebration of Earth Day 2022, try going meatless for the day or take it a step further and make Meatless Mondays a regular occurrence.

A large majority of the energy that powers our homes comes directly from fossil fuels. If we unplug our electronic devices, we will reduce our home’s energy demand and carbon emission. This Earth Day, spend time outdoors enjoying nature over using screens.

Trees can help reduce climate change as they remove carbon dioxide from the air, store carbon within themselves and soil, then release oxygen back into the atmosphere. Check your local area for nurseries and plant stores that are open.

For those that are unable to leave the house because of COVID or simply don’t have time, donating to an environmental cause can be the perfect way to lend your support to Earth Day. You can donate directly to the official Earth Day organization or find a related cause that you are most passionate about.

Earth Day Donation Suggestions

• Earth Day Official Site to go straight to the source
• Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, or Well Aware are great choices if you are passionate about water, like us as Aquasana 
• Use a service like Charity Navigator to find the perfect environmental charity near you

If you don’t have time to volunteer or have extra money to donate, you can still help to celebrate Earth Day by making an Earth Day resolution. Whether you pledge to cut down on water consumption, use less plastic, reduce energy consumption, or something else, every little bit can help when it comes to protecting our environment, wildlife, and natural resources.

Earth Day Resolutions and Activities

• Limit your shower time to less than 8 minutes
• Only use reusable bags for shopping
• Don’t leave the faucet running
• Limit disposable water bottles and replace them with reusable bottles
• Turn off electronics and lights when you aren’t using them
• Reduce meat consumption, especially meats like beef that can produce a lot of methane
• Walk or ride a bike instead of driving a car
• Carpool to reduce emissions and gas consumption
• Recycle more
• Repair instead of replace
• Start a composting pile

If you're looking for ways to safely interact with others on Earth Day 2022, we've also compiled a list of amazing events happening across the U.S. Find an event that aligns with your environmental goals and reach out to see how you can help! For more information, check out the official Earth Day website where you can find an event near your location.

The Canopy Project is a global initiative that plants trees to benefit communities and combat climate change. You can participate by donating money to the organization, or contact the organization for information about how to plant trees with them.

My Planet, My Closet is a project that aims to create a dialogue around sustainable fashion and shopping. To celebrate Earth Day 2022, people are invited to send a video about your sustainable clothing that will be showcased on earthday.org's social media profiles.

The Great Global Cleanup is a worldwide program that aims to remove trash from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks. You can register for a clean up near you to join the effort for Earth Day 2022.

The Global Earth Challenge is a coordinated citizen science campaign that started in 2020 and empowers people to help the scientific community by collecting data using a mobile app. People can download the app and take part in the challenge through four options:

• Classify: Classify pollution in pictures for ongoing research projects, and help researchers train machine learning models for the environment.
• Capture: Submit information including pictures from your area to assist researchers.
• Learn: Learn about critically important environmental issues to make changes in your lifestyle and facilitate conversations with others.
• Act: Find local cleanup events and relevant environmental petitions to support.