Earth Day has been an annual rite of spring in the U.S. since it was first celebrated by 20 million people on April 22, 1970. Back then, activists joined with citizens to revel in the experience of living on a green-blue planet while calling attention to environmental policies designed to keep it that way. This year you can celebrate Earth Day by participating in local events scheduled in communities nationwide on the Earth Day Network. A yearlong initiative called the Green Generation will be launched to lead up to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. Next year’s celebration will focus on making a public commitment to take an environmental action. Doing, not thinking about buying green products, remembering to take shopping bags to the grocery store, and replacing energy-guzzling appliances are among many big and small actions you can take to “go green.”

Image courtesy of NASA “Astronomy Picture of the Day, February 4, 1998.” This view of Earth from space was taken by the NEAR Spacecraft Team.

Earth Day notables:

•The GREEN Schools Campaign aims to green up all of America’s K12 schools within a generation via policy reform, green makeovers, teacher grant programs and resources on the Educators’ Network.

•Join the Educators’ Network to find Environmental Education lessons, tips, grants for teachers, and more ideas

The month of May kicks off with a celebration of Astronomy Day on May 2–2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. Explore the news updates and projects located on the IYA site, or utilize the NSDL ComPADRE Digital Library for Physics and Astronomy and their Astronomy Center to find activities, learning resources, and more.