Happy Earth Day!!

The most beautiful spring weather has graced Ohio. The grass is lush, the flowers and trees in bloom.. Kevin and I were negotiating for WHO would get to mow the grass-- now THAT is a negotiation that will not be necessary a few more weeks in to spring.

Every day in an appropriate day to honor the Earth and care to take meaningful actions to preserve it for the future.

Today is a perfect Earth Day! The first celebration of Earth Day was April 22, 1970 when over 20 million people celebrated and honored the earth that we enjoy. Earth Day is celebrated by nations in over 175 countries. The first event featured keynote speaker and folk singer Pete Seeger performed in Washington DC. Paul Newman and Ali McGraw supported a New York City Event.

It is not just celebrities making a difference. Imagine what happens if one person in one home on every block in your city were to take a few positive actions like that of 6 year old Ryan Hrejlac of Ontario. Those who say environmental issues are out of reach have never considered the possibilities of a child armed with knowledge and optimism that they CAN make a difference! Since he learned at a young age that unclean water was causing a number of citizens of our earth to die, Ryan sprung into action, creating a wellspring of goodness! Today Ryan's Well Foundation has delivered clean water in the form of 266 wells in 12 countries serving
435,343 people!

Why Raise Awareness now?

• All About the Environment
• Climate Change Fact Sheet
• Energy Efficient Light Bulb Fact Sheet
  
• Climate Change Solutions: What you can do right now!
  
• Earth Day Energy Fast
  
• Ecological Footprint Quiz
  
• Embrace and employ Green Career Options savings estimated at a 25-ton per year reduction of volatile compounds could be reduced in metropolitan areas that allowed 4,500 telecommuters to work from home 1-2 days per week! InnoVisions Canada reports that 1.5 million Canadians are working from home more than one day per week.
  
• Think large corporations are not considering this option? Think again!
  
• It saves the environment, and real estate costs! AT&T saved about $550M by reducing office space and allowing telecommuting. About 1/4 of IBM's workers telecommute saving IBM $700M in Real Estate.
  
• It expands the pool of available resources to hire, while reducing relocation costs, and studies have suggested that teleworking 1-3 days/week increases employee productivity by 10-20%, translating into 5-10 telecommuters giving the equivalent of one free extra worker.
• Green Shopping Tips
  
• Planet Green Game
• Educational Resources- wow an average tv consumes 200-300 kilowatt-hours/year. TV use alone constitutes an estimated 3-4% of the annual electronic usage in the USA tipping the scale at 46.9 billion kilowatt-hours/ year! Or, in a more earthly view, creating approximately 36 million tons of carbon dioxide, a global-warming causing pollutant. Turn off the TV a week a month and rediscover your family! Its good for you AND the earth.
  

Kids Activities:

• Earth Day Activities and fun for kids
  
• Environmental Games, Songs, and Activities.
  
• U.S. Government Earthday Kids Activities.
  

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Telecommuter Resources: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Telecommuter_Professionals/
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