Three and a half decades after the first Earth Day, founders of the annual observance are still working to build a better environment.
RATLIFF: "EarthDay.net is the website for Earth Day Network, which was founded by Gaylord Nelson and Dennis Hayes, and the purpose of it is to educate and to get the word out to people about what Earth Day Network is doing and more importantly, what people can do for Earth Day in their own communities."
Adam Ratliff is a spokesman for EarthDay.net, which serves as a clearinghouse for environmental events not just on Earth Day, but also throughout the year. Many are big national activities; others are small neighborhood cleanups. The searchable database includes events from all over, from Argentina to Ukraine, Nigeria to Indonesia, and a wide range of activities.
RATLIFF: "Everything, from tree-plantings to political rallies to public events in parks. Anything can be an Earth Day event. People should check it out."
And to help you plan your Earth Day activities no matter where you live, there are a number of different language versions of the site — Chinese, Arabic, French, Russian and others. EarthDay-dot-net includes a variety of other features, including suggestions for planning your own Earth Day event — which may be a bit late for this year, but Earth Day 2007 will be here before you know it. And Adam Ratliff says there's a special section for educators.
RATLIFF: "We have the teachers' corner, which can be found on our website, and that can give you all sorts of resources about how to use Earth Day in the classroom."
Also on the site is the Ecological Footprint Quiz, a thought-provoking interactive feature that asks you a dozen or so questions and then calculates how much of an impact your lifestyle is having on the environment. You may be surprised at what you find. All that and more at our Website of the Week, EarthDay.net, or get the link from our site, VOANews.com.