On April 22, millions of Americans and people from all over the world will take time to honor and celebrate planet Earth. They’ll plant trees, dedicate parks, clean up rivers, take public transportation and participate in hundreds of other activities that heighten awareness of environmental issues. Earth Day is a time to reflect on our planet’s fragility, resilience and recovery. It’s a unifying event that brings people together, no matter their age, race, nationality or political agenda. The thread that binds them is their desire to respect, honor and protect the planet.

The environmentally concerned statesman

Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, who in 1962 was concerned that “the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country.”

“All across the country,” he wrote, “evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.” In 1963, he persuaded President Kennedy to take a national conservation tour. While it did little to bring the issue to the forefront, it did become the seed of what was to become Earth Day.

Overwhelming response

Through the ‘60s, Nelson continued to speak on environmental issues. While on a conservation speaking tour in 1969, he saw how non-violent protests called “teach-ins” were effectively used on college campuses to protest the war in Vietnam. He believed this grassroots approach would work well to heighten public awareness of environmental issues. Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970, there would be a nationwide “demonstration” on behalf of the environment.

“The response was electric,” Nelson said. “Inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes and air.” The country was ripe for such a demonstration, as evidenced by the participation of two thousand colleges and universities, ten thousand high schools and grade schools, and thousands of communities. In all, 20 million Americans participated in that first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

From activism to acts

This was the beginning of the environmental movement in the United States. That same year saw the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. By 1980, multiple environmental acts became law: the Clean Air Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act, among many others. What started as a grassroots effort is now an international event celebrated by billions of people from around the planet. Until his death in 2005 at the age of 89, Nelson remained dedicated to improving and protecting the environment.

Get involved

Want to know what activities are planned for Earth Day in your community? Contact the mayor’s office, city hall, newspapers, radio and TV stations, children’s and science museums, colleges and universities, and non-profit environmental groups. You may not find a “teach-in,” but you’re sure to find an activity you and your family can participate in to show your concern for the planet.

Tidbits about Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day:

Governor of Wisconsin 1959-1962

• U.S. Senator from Wisconsin 1963-1981
• Earth Day founder
• Co-sponsor of the National Environment Education Act
• Counselor of the Wilderness Society
• Created legislation to:
  • Preserve the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail
  • Mandate fuel efficiency standards in automobiles
  • Control strip mining
  • Establish the St. Croix Wild and Scenic Riverway (MN/WI), and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (in Lake Superior off the Wisconsin shoreline)

Originally posted in 2008.

Look closer…this version of the classic chips & salsa is sweet instead of savory!

Ingredients:

Apple Salsa:
2 kiwis, peeled & diced
2 Fuji or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored & diced
8 oz. frozen peaches, thawed
1 lb. strawberries
½ T. white sugar
½ T. brown sugar
3 T. orange marmalade

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips:
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Butter-flavored cooking spray
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix fruit, sugar, and marmalade, adding the apples last. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, thoroughly mix together sugar and cinnamon. Coat both sides of each flour tortilla with cooking spray. Dredge tortilla wedges (2 at a time) in the cinnamon sugar and arrange on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, then cool for 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. Serves 10.

View all of our recipes here.

“Mom told me that the most important item to be used for cleaning the house is the toothbrush. She was right; it fits in all those places most people neglect, requires no batteries and can be carried from room to room easily!”

-Connie Low

Editors Note: We promised this tip would be up by Friday, May 8th, but with so many amazing submissions, it took us all weekend to decide which one to feature! Be sure to read the comments from the “Got Great Advice from Mom?” post for lots of spectacular household advice from mothers everywhere.

At Solutions, we do our best to stay environmentally aware. We recycle, offer our employees free public transportation passes, give rewards to carpoolers – we even work in one of the nation’s first “green” buildings!

What do you do to help the environment? Share your plan for reducing your carbon footprint with us – if we choose to feature your story, we’ll treat you to a $200 shopping spree at Solutions.com!

Submit your story in the comments section (be sure to include your email address) by midnight, April 22 PDT.

Editors note: Thanks everyone for the stories and ideas! Comments are now closed on this post.

Thinking about taking better care of your heart? Changing how you eat can make a big difference. If your goal is to reduce how much fat you take in, here are a few tips to make it easier and more delicious!

1.) Know how much fat is in what you’re eating. It sounds simple, but you may be surprised when you start reading labels.
Continue Reading Cut Fat (and calories!) From Your Cooking!

Keep Food Staples Fresher!

The pantry is a busy cook’s favorite “room” – but keeping it tidy can be a challenge! With these simple tips, your pantry can be a kitchen cure-all instead of a catch-all.

First, think about what you keep in your pantry. Many people use a kitchen pantry to hold nonperishable foods, but it can also be used to store cleaning tools, kitchen tools, utility items (such as emergency candles and batteries) and even table linens. Think about what you want to store so you can figure out how best to store it
Continue Reading Organizing Your Pantry

Always eager to take part in community service activities, the Solutions team was particularly enthusiastic when they adopted a local Head Start class for Christmas.

“The Community Service Committee took a survey in August, and many of the employees expressed a special interest in doing something to help kids,” says Bob, a Solutions team member.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America – 12.9 million of whom are children. One federal program geared toward helping kids from low-income families is Head Start.
Continue Reading The Giving Tree

Solutions is staffed with big-time pet lovers, so it gave us special pleasure to donate part of the proceeds from our last sample sale to PAWS, a no-kill animal shelter located in nearby West Linn, Oregon.

In 1999, interior designer Sharon Murphy got a call from a client cancelling her appointment. The client explained that she needed to seek treatment for a bite received while taking two stray cats to a local animal clinic to be euthanized.

“I just couldn’t get those cats out of my mind,” Sharon recalls, “so I called the clinic and said I’d take them.”

Sharon took the strays back to her shop. The next day, she arrived to find that, instead of two cats, she now had eight – one of the strays had given birth during the night! When the mother cat refused to accept the kittens, Sharon recruited some friends and began bottle-feeding them.

“I hadn’t planned on starting a shelter, but when my landlord told me the cats would have to go, I closed the shop and opened PAWS down the street,” she says. “Since then, we’ve placed over a thousand cats in loving, permanent homes.”

Until PAWS opened its doors, Sharon had no idea that so many cats were routinely abandoned.

“We currently have 150 cats in our care,” she says, “and we typically get 500-600 calls a month from people who want to place unwanted cats with us.”

With only 640 square feet of space, the shelter has been forced to limit the number of animals they accept, and the need for larger quarters has become urgent.

“Our lease is up next year, and I have my eye on a house across the street that would be perfect for us if we can raise the money,” Sharon says. “I’d love it if we never had to turn any animals away.”

Unlike other animal shelters, PAWS allows their cats to roam freely through the premises.

“It makes for a more stress-free, ‘homey’ atmosphere for both the cats and prospective owners,” Sharon says. “No sad faces peering at you from behind the bars of a cage…the cats romp and play as they like. And sleep, of course – there are beds for them everywhere!”

In addition, PAWS is one of the few shelters in Oregon that takes in orphaned newborn kittens, bottle-feeding them until they can eat on their own.

“Our Bottle Brigade is made up of a group of wonderful volunteers who give around-the-clock care to these ‘babies,’” Sharon says. “It’s an intensive but very rewarding experience.”

Cats above the age of ten become part of PAWS’s Elder Care Program. Instead of being adopted, these senior cats are placed in permanent foster homes where they become a part of their new family, but legally belong to PAWS, who pays the medical bills for these elderly animals.

Sharon smiles as she explains that the cats at PAWS are all named after famous people.

“People who’ve visited our shelter can honestly say they met ‘Oprah Winfrey’ – in fact, she sat on their laps! And we named one very opinionated little guy ‘Simon Cowell’ after the American Idol judge. Simon the cat appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and was featured in the Oregonian newspaper.”

When talk show host Ellen deGeneres learned she had a cat named for her at a shelter in Oregon, she called PAWS in order to pass along a message to her namesake’s new owners.

“She wanted them to know that she likes to have cocktails promptly at five, and that lobster is her fish of choice!” Sharon says, laughing.

PAWS not only strives to place pets in a good home; they also work to inform people (particularly children) about properly caring for a pet.

“We want to educate the public on the responsibility that goes with adding a pet to their families,” Sharon explains.

With that end in mind, PAWS invites schoolchildren and extracurricular groups to visit the shelter. In turn, volunteers from PAWS visit schools, introducing cats to the kids and talking about the responsibilities of pet ownership.

While cats are currently their primary focus, PAWS also found homes for 56 dogs, 2 turtles, a rabbit, a pigeon and a miniature horse. Only cats spend nights at the shelter – the other animals are on-site during the day so they can “meet” potential adopters, then go home with foster families at night.

If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, PAWS invites you to stop by and meet the animals available for adoption. You can also visit their web site at www.pawsanimalshelter.org. No matter where you live, PAWS encourages you to consider adopting a rescue pet over a pet store or breeder – you may just save a life!

Shop Pet Products at Solutions.