Earth Day is Friday, April 22nd, 2022. Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. This year’s Earth Day theme is “Invest In Our Planet.” Here are 8 investments you can make at home today. We all need a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.
Use A Reusable Coffee Cup
Saving five cups and lids over the course of a week amounts to nearly 300 during the year. Multiply that times the number of people who work just in your office, and it quickly adds up to less waste for Earth Day 2023.
Plant a Tree This Earth Day
Trees and forests are extremely important for providing oxygen, homes, and resources to animals, which includes us. Trees can help with soil erosion and contribute to dealing with carbon emissions, Deforestation contributes to greenhouse gases, with an estimated 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions due to the cutting down of trees.
Trees not only cool things down – they can help decrease a city’s temperature by up to 10 degrees. They also clean the air and give off more oxygen. Trees have proven to increase your property value by 15%.
This Earth Day, if you want to help make your area a bit greener. Help reduce deforestation and climate change. Plant a tree or even a forest! You can buy saplings from garden centers or the Spruce has a way to get free trees for your Earth day celebration.
Give Up Chewing Gum
You might think that chewing gum is environmentally friendly. However, it is actually made from synthetic rubber, which is plastic. Around 100,000 tons of this plastic is thrown away every year, and a lot of it ends up on the street and on the bottom of your shoes. Next time you want minty-fresh breath, just brush your teeth rather than chewing on a piece of plastic.
Shop a Local Farmers Market on Earth Day
Buy local. Buying local produce reduces shipping distances from food sourced overseas. Buying local supports local businesses and communities. Check out a local farm or local restaurant this Earth day
Visit a local farmers’ market. Not only will you be supporting growers in your area, but buying local helps save transportation energy and fossil fuels. That’s because food in the grocery stores travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to you. All that shipping can cause pollution plus an increase in fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Farmers markets also tend to use a lot less, or even no plastic packaging compared to supermarkets, which helps reduce waste. Finally, the products are grown or made locally so transport distances are very short and CO2 emissions are low. Community Supporter Agriculture, or CSA, is also a great way to get local, seasonable produce delivered to your door. Sign up for one in your area.
Use a Refillable Water Bottle
Americans buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute. The water extraction for these water bottles is harmful to wildlife and whole communities. There’s no reason to use it. In 2016, over 480 billion plastic bottles were sold, which is over 60 for every person. It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture all of those bottles each year. There are still over two million tons of water bottles that have ended up in U.S. landfills.
If everyone had a reusable water bottle, then this number would decrease greatly. If you don’t already own one, then go out and buy a bottle that you can take with you everywhere you go. Buy a reusable bottle, preferably one that has a water filter attached to it, so you’ll be getting fresh water every time.
Stop Using Plastic Straws on Earth Day
Plastic straws contribute greatly to the plastic waste in our oceans. The next time you go to a bar or restaurant, make sure to say no to straws and even encourage them to stop using straws completely. If you have to use one, then buy an environmentally friendly one that is reusable. You can buy bamboo, metal, and glass straws online that you can wash and use rather than always buying plastic ones. Swap plastic straws for reusable straws made from silicone, bamboo, or metal.
Switch to eBills and Online Invoices
Rather than being sent your monthly bills by post, switch to online statements to reduce paper waste. It’s really easy to do and can save millions of trees every single year. With online bills, you are sent an email when your bills are available online to view. Decreasing the demand for paper will hopefully decrease the rate of deforestation.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
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Second – Big tech knows they can 
The bill calls for tech companies to create an opening in their own encryption. An opening that only law enforcement agencies could use for investigations. The Feds have a long history of attacking encryption online. CNet explains that In 2017, the Justice Department called it “responsible encryption.” The feds wanted tech firms to provide encryption for everyone. But only if they hand over a special key that governments could use to snoop on communications. The FBI calls it the “Going Dark” problem. They claim investigations can hit a dead end because of encryption. Prosecutors have asked for backdoors to encryption. The Justice Department has called it “warrant-proof encryption.” The DoJ argues that encryption hinders law enforcement from keeping track of criminals or gathering evidence.
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