By Rosie Alger
Opinion Editor
This week’s hero is Earth Day, which took place on Sunday, April 22, and according to their website, is the world’s largest environmental movement. Every year, the organization chooses a different environmental cause to focus on, and this year they are pushing to end plastic pollution.
Every plastic straw that has ever been made is still on this planet, being eaten by fish in the ocean or taking up space in already-full landfills. Plastic waste is a huge problem facing our planet, and Earth Day organizers are taking a big stand to try and cut back on plastic consumption and production to help reduce this issue.
Earth Day provides resources for individuals, educators, and organizations alike to find out how they can make a difference in stopping this horrible distruction of the earth. You can even find out your own personal plastic footprint by calculating how much plastic you throw away in a given year with their online calculator. See here: https://www.earthday.org/plastic-calculator/
Plastic production and waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, the destruction of marine ecosystems, and many more devastating environmental issues. If we want this planet to survive for us to continue to live on it, we need to make major advancements in removing plastic from our way of life.
Let’s all thank Earth Day for reminding us to take action, and giving us the tools to do so.