It is Earth Day, 2009 folks. If my math is correct, this is the 39th year that we have been observing this day.

The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. “The Partridge Family” was asking the world if they were happy. “Jesus Christ Superstar” was trying to figure out “what’s the buzz”. “Love Story” was driving tissue sales through the roof (this is not necessarily a fact but I am thinking it must have been true). And less than one year earlier in Cleveland, Ohio the Cuyahoga River had spontaneously combusted.

Lake Erie was on the verge of being sterilized by the impossibly large amount of pollution floating in its waters. The bald eagle was on the edge of extinction, not necessarily because of excessive hunting or even habitat destruction but largely because of a pesticide, DDT. Sickness and deaths in major cities like New York and Los Angeles were linked directly to air pollution. The planet was in bad shape. So how far have we come since that first Earth Day? I found myself wanting to know if we are making a difference so I did some looking. …read more of An Earth Day Celebration here

Causes More Rain to Fall
Rainwater is absorbed by the roots of trees and transpired by leaves so that it can cycle back for use again as rainwater. Rain waters crops and refills drinking water supplies in reservoirs.

Just to see the way things are so highly connected and interlaced with each other, lets follow the wind. The sun’s heat drives the winds, then, the winds and the sun’s heat causes water to evaporate. When this water vapor turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into rivers or streams.

Trees Improve the Soil
The roots of plants hold soil in place. Fertile soil that is needed to grow crops would otherwise be washed away in rainstorms, decreasing the amount of soil available for agriculture. Rich soil transfers nutrients to food, which contributes to human health.

Fallen leaves and branches, by decaying, replace minerals in the soil and enrich it to support later plant growth. Roots also aerate the ground by helping air get beneath the soil surface. …read more of Trees Give Many Gifts here