Every Day is Earth Day at Save the Dunes!

Why Everyday Should be Earth Day...

In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities, and it worked! In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. People gathered together for clean ups, plantings, and general “greening” to celebrate our Earth and care for it.

Now the month is April is considered Earth Month, which in the eyes of environmentalist is just one step in the right direction. For the staff at Save the Dunes, we like to celebrate the earth everyday! But for April we each shared a book, movie, podcasts or moment that shifted our mindset about why caring about the earth is an everyday mentality.

All of us here at Save the Dunes have come from an array of experiences and backgrounds, but work together for a common cause at Save the Dunes — advocating to protect and preserve our most precious resource – Lake Michigan and the surrounding natural areas. Please read on about each staff member’s picks, and we encourage you this month to expand and explore with any of the resources shared below.

Best,

Em Racine

Community Engagement Coordinator

“My pick is Silent Spring by Rachel Carson . I read it during an Environmental Communication class in undergrad. Up until then I had always wanted to be a singer, but that class and Professor shifted me onto a new trajectory where I started pursuing a career in environmental work.”

“My favorite book is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – it has changed my relationship with the plants and animals in my garden and beyond. The author is an incredibly talented storyteller, and she mixes indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge in a way that completely shifted the way I look at the natural world. I can’t recommend it enough. I also really love the short poem School Prayer by Diane Ackerman as a way to voice the intentions that have stuck with me from Braiding Sweetgrass.

The other book that has had a major impact on my professional life is Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy. This book clearly outlines the crucial role residential gardens play in protecting biodiversity and sustaining life on earth. It motivated me to do as much community outreach as possible utilizing our Pollinator Garden Landscaping Guide to help people choose native plants for their gardens. This was always something I thought was important, but after reading this book, I understand it truly as nature’s best hope.”

“An Inconvenient Truth was the first mainstream documentary I watched about climate change. It brought public awareness to global warming and the environmental movement. After watching it, I was determined to do my part to be environmentally conscious.

After the Spill- Hurricane Katrina had traumatized me dramatically. So when the Deepwater Horizon spill happened I was again aching for the people of the LA coastal community. And, I was angry. I thought about how impactful the disaster was in so many different ways. This film showed how industry, people and environment are so closely intertwined, much like our area. The movie also discusses the impacts of coastal climate change. After watching it, I’ve closely followed what happens in our waters here and on the coasts.”

“Dark Waters showed the need for communities to use environmental law and policy against egregious industrial pollution, and how individuals such as our members in Northwest Indiana can really make a difference if they speak out against pollution events like this.

The Lorax shows the generational story of how new and younger generations can take the environmental lessons from others before them and then advocate for more environmental change and make a difference by speaking “for the trees” as the Lorax does. You are never too young to advocate and protect the environment!”

“The first movie I can remember impacting how I thought about the environment was Wall-E. I was just 8 years old when I first saw it and felt an overwhelming feeling that we have to do something to keep the earth clean. This movie made me realize that the garbage we make doesn’t just disappear when we throw it away. This impacted and began my journey to sustainable living and environmentalism.

My current favorite for environmental topics is the podcast Green Dreamer. It approaches sustainability and environmentalism through a global feminist lens. It discusses topics that feel relevant and important to me as someone who is deeply empathetic to our Earth and the way we impact it, and learning how to care for Earth is a life long process. “

How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. From carrying a reusable straw, to catching microfibers when you wash your clothes, to throwing plastic-free parties, this book shares new and intuitive ways to reduce plastic waste. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you’ll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good.

It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully biodegrade, and there are around 12.7 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year. At our current pace, in the year 2050 there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish, by weight. These are alarming figures, but plastic pollution is an environmental crisis with a solution we can all contribute to.

Why Everyday Should be Earth Day...

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