For us at GreenBlue, Earth Day isn’t just another silly holiday set on our pocket calendars. Earth Day is every day, and it’s our passion to make the world a cleaner, better place to live. Whether it’s our forest management certification program, our recycling label, our material health assessment, or our clean chemical formulation database, to say we care about the Earth would be an understatement. While we all care deeply for the Earth, we all have different perspectives on what this special day means to us.
“What does Earth Day mean to you?”
Adam Gendell – Project Manager, Sustainable Packaging Coalition
“Every day can’t be Earth Day. We need a pointed reminder to celebrate the progress and raised awareness we’ve achieved and also the issues that need to be tackled. To me, Earth Day ought to serve as that special highlight of our work and set the stage for the other 364 days on the calendar.”
Shea Zwerver – Executive Assistant
“I learned from my glorious mother that Earth Day was in celebration of Mother Earth and all her bountiful resources and beauty she provides. Since it takes place in April, I always think of new life — baby animals being born, plants sprouting from the ground, trees and flowers blooming. As I have gotten older, almost every day is Earth Day to me where I appreciate what the Earth provides us with, and its beauty!”
A baby house finches that lived on my back porch last year, and are back again this year building another nest.
Anne Elsea – Communications Associate
“We all owe so much to the Earth; it gives us white sand beaches, breathtaking Swiss Alps (see below), and my personal favorite, a beautiful backdrop to a Virginia winery (see featured image). Celebrating the Earth at the height of spring is such an amazing opportunity to look at how we can better serve Earth so that future generations will be able to enjoy the blooming flowers and sunny days.”
Anne Bedarf- Senior Manager, Sustainable Packaging Coalition
“I always say Earth Day is Every Day!”
Tom Pollock – Senior Manager of Forest Projects
“Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, starting an important movement in 1969 that is now recognized around the world and inspiring great work that continues to grow.”
Liz Shoch- Senior Manager, Sustainable Packaging Coalition
“Honestly? Earth Day itself doesn’t mean that much to me! That may sound like heresy, but I try to incorporate environmental practices into my life EVERY day, not just April 22. They might be small efforts, like trying a different detergent or starting to collect household plastic wraps for recycling at my local retail stores. But little by little, I and my family try to think about doing the right environmental thing all year long. My toddler now knows that we recycle certain items and she loves to put them in our recycling bin. Might as well start her early!
Calling attention to environmental issues on one day a year is important, but I worry that most people think it’s a one-day concern. We didn’t create our significant environmental problems (such as climate change, air pollution, deforestation, overfishing) overnight, and we won’t be able to solve them overnight either.
On Earth Day, I think the most important thing is for each of us to take a moment and go outside and appreciate our environment — listen to the birds, look for early spring flowers, even pull a few weeds or complain about tree pollen! Just this morning in my yard, I spotted my first catbird of the year, returning to nest in Virginia after a winter in Mexico.
Making that regular connection with our natural environment helps keep us mindful of the world outside our doors and reinforce our behaviors all year long.”
Happy 45th Anniversary Earth Day! And happy 4.54 billion (and counting) years of being amazing, planet Earth!
-The GreenBlue Staff
