Five simple ways to take action on Earth Day

Earth Day happens each year on April 22, and it's a great time to take action to help fight climate change. If you're looking for ways to make a difference for our planet, here are several ways to do just that on Earth Day – and any day!

One of the best ways to get started is to stay up-to-date on climate change, advocacy, and legislation. We've organized a few resources for you:

TED Talks, podcasts, and videos

• The Carbon Copy: this weekly news podcast produced jointly by Canary Media and Post Script Media and hosted by Stephen Lacey helps explain our changing planet through the lens of current events and interviews with industry experts, journalists, and leaders.

• Countdown: a global initiative powered by TED and Future Stewards, this collection of videos seeks to share conversations to help accelerate solutions to the climate crisis.

• Five questions about climate change: these five short videos answer some common questions, including explaining what net-zero means and why a slight increase in the Earth's temperature matters.

• Science Moms: a nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers is fighting climate change with "The Science Moms To-Do List," inspired by their frustrations around the lack of immediate and aggressive action by elected officials on climate change. They have several short videos showcasing the facts and what's at stake regarding climate change.

Publications and websites

• Climate by BBC News: read ongoing global stories by BBC News.

• Climate Forward: sign up for this email newsletter from The New York Times to get updates in your inbox twice a week on climate change news.

• Climate Hub: also from The New York Times, this collection of free, on-demand video sessions highlights influential leaders joining together with the global community to debate, discuss, and bring to light climate change strategies.

• Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet: This website by NASA shares headlines from around the world related to climate change and even has a real-time data visualization of NASA's Earth-orbiting satellites and the data they're collecting on climate change.

Many organizations in your area organize clean-ups, tree plantings, or other volunteer events to help celebrate our planet on Earth Day. There are also usually events and donation opportunities all year long, so you can pick the level of support you’re able to provide or find specific initiatives to join.

Summary of some Earth-focused organizations to support

Climate equity and environmental justice

• Global Greengrants Fund

• GreenLatinos

• Rural Coalition

Food-focused

• The Good Food Institute

• Lovin’ Spoonfuls

Outdoors-focused

• Sierra Club

• Access Fund

• Mystic River Watershed Association

• Ocean Conservancy

• Protect Our Winters

General

• Ceres

• Union of Concerned Scientists

There are many more organizations doing great work locally near you and around the world to fight climate change. The best thing to do is just start getting involved: donate, reach out, and volunteer.

If you have children, there are some easy ways to get your loved ones of all ages involved in Earth Day and Earth-focused activities as well:

Earth Month educational materials

Download a set of free educational materials to help kids understand renewable energy.

Earth Day books

Borrow some Earth-focused books at your local library or purchase some for your home library to help the little ones learn about Earth and how we can help the planet like these:

• Ages 3-6: Earth by Stacy McAnulty and I am Earth: An Earth Day Book for Kids by Rebecca and James McDonald

• Ages 5-10: Earth Ninja: A Children’s Book About Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing by Mary Nhin and One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul

Family-friendly Earth Day volunteering

Some volunteer organizations have opportunities you can get kids as young as five years old involved in as well – you often just have to reach out to them and ask for kid-friendly options like clean-ups that they might have for younger volunteers.

If you can’t find a nearby opportunity your kids can join, you can contact your neighborhood association, school, or others in your community to organize your own local park clean up day. REI has some tips for planning, organizing, and executing your own local clean up.

Earth Day-focused crafts

You can use Earth Day to help make it fun to learn about the Earth and how to appreciate our planet! You can get recycled craft ideas from MommyPoppins as well as guides to exploring National Parks to help your kids love the Earth by getting out into nature.

Want to help clean up our electric grid and reduce reliance on fossil fuels? Joining a community solar farm is one of the easiest ways to do so!

Simply put, community solar makes it possible for renters and homeowners to "go solar" without installing a single solar panel. Rather than putting equipment on your roof, you can subscribe to a share of a solar farm in your area. As the solar farm produces emission-free electricity for the grid, you’ll receive credits on your monthly electricity bill for this energy and reduce what you owe your utility company. You don't need to pay anything upfront to join, or sign any long-term contract – all you need is an electric bill!

Visit EnergySage's Community Solar Marketplace to find an open solar farm near you.

If you want to help make your home more Earth-friendly while saving money on your electricity bills, there’s never been a better time to go solar! Sign up on the EnergySage Marketplace today to get no-obligation quotes from local, trusted installers and see how much pollution you can offset by installing solar panels.