Monday, April 22 marks the anniversary of Earth Day, which was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1970. Whether you are a proponent of global warming or think it’s just a load of hooey, you can still work to make the world a better place for all the world’s inhabitants. You can plant a tree or start recycling. It’s easy!

As a small child I saw a commercial with an American Indian who was crying and was surrounded by tons of litter dumped by careless people. That Keep America Beautiful ad campaign which lasted nearly 12 years had an impact and has stayed with me over the years. It made an impact on me because it was hard to believe that people could just toss trash out their car windows as they drove down the road. Plus as I thought back on it over the years, I thought about the American Indians and how they lived off the land and animals and how they only used what they needed. If they killed an animal for food, they used the hide for clothing and shelter and the bones for tools. They were stewards of the earth. Along the way this has been forgotten. Watching one of the commercials on Youtube for the first time in ages I see that it encompassed not only littering but air and water pollution as well.

Prior to 1970, there were no limitations in place for the amount of pollution that could be emitted from factories into our air and water. Factories could dump manufacturing waste into rivers and streams and pump toxins into the air. But in 1970 Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to advocate for more stringent land, air and water standards and to bring the need for such laws into the national spotlight. Later that same year President Richard M. Nixon and the U.S. Congress established the Environment Protection Agency to create guidelines for clean air, water and land and to combat the damage already done.

Then came those famous commercials sponsored by Keep America Beautiful whose “People start pollution. People can stop it!” theme stuck with millions across the nation. The non-profit organization, which first began in 1953, is most widely known for its anti-litter campaigns and signs that dot American roadways. The community based organization which first began by tasking people with the job of ending littering and pollution in their own cities and towns in order to combat the nationwide epidemic.

A growing number of organizations worked together to combat pollution and littering and have made our country a safer and cleaner place for us all. You can do your part this Earth Day by doing something out in your community or in your own backyard. Research and sign up for a coastal cleanup, Great American Cleanup program, or Adopt-a-Mile program. Plant a tree in your backyard. Start recycling. It’s easy! Get a bin and start collecting paper, plastic and aluminum. You can put it in a recycling dumpster. There’s one next to Dr. Hooper’s office in Bay Minette on West 3rd Street in Bay Minette and next to the post office in Stockton. Even turning off the water while you are brushing your teeth is a way to honor Earth Day.

Everyone can do a little something to make the world a better place! Happy Earth Day!

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com