The focus of Earth Day 2019 is to Protect Our Species. As plant and animal populations rapidly decline, taking action to protect endangered and threatened species is increasingly important. The consumption of resources has been recognized as a root cause of biodiversity loss. Sustainable development offers a path to protect our species and our planet. Find out more at earthday.org.

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
-Sustainable Development Commission

Here are just some of the ways that you can help Protect Our Species:

Reduce Overall Consumption by consuming less & using your purchasing power to only buy products that do not harm the environment.

Reduce Use of Energy by replacing inefficient lighting with efficient LEDs, walking or riding a bike when possible & reducing meat consumption.

Reduce Your Water Consumption by repairing leaky faucets, taking shorter showers & using drought-resistant plants in dry areas.

Reduce Pollution by using non-toxic cleaning products & avoiding sunscreen lotions that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate, chemicals believed to cause harm to marine life and coral reefs.

Prevent Plastic Pollution by reducing/eliminating consumption of single-use plastics, recycling everything you can & participating in cleanups.

Protect the Habitat by joining campaigns to have the local or national government protect undeveloped areas & supporting/volunteering with organizations that execute conservation projects.

This information and more can be found in the Earth Day Network’s Primer and Action Toolkit.