It’s New York Fashion Week, and before we stop to admire the glitz and glamor, we need to celebrate fashion and beauty’s ultimate, timeless inspiration: Nature. 

For centuries, designers have been inspired by the natural environment around them, finding a muse in everything from flowers for delicate floral prints to the underwater world for fabrics that mimic the flow of water. And since ancient times, natural ingredients were used for beautification purposes to achieve healthy-looking hair and skin. 

Unfortunately, this admiration for nature has not translated to awareness of the industry’s impact for much of history. The Industrial Revolution brought the first boom in mass produced clothing, and the destructive impacts of the fast fashion textile industry has done even more damage. 

The beauty industry is no better. The glass bottles and jars that used to contain cosmetic products have been  widely replaced with their cheap plastic counterparts, contributing to global pollution on an epic scale. The industry generates over 120 billion units of plastic packaging every single year, with about 95% of this discarded after a single use and only around 9% – 14% actually recycled. 

Much of this plastic ends up in landfills and our oceans. In terms of weight, the beauty industry produces approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic waste annually.

What is more, toxic ingredients that leak from this plastic packaging and the products themselves, which are harmful to both humans and the environment, still find their way into our oceans when people toss their trash away and wash the products off their face and into the sink. Microplastics were even intentionally added to many beauty products themselves to help exfoliate, despite their harmful effects on human health and wildlife. 

But not all hope is lost – there has since been a growing emphasis on using biodegradable and organic ingredients in makeup and skincare to reduce the harmful effects on the environment. 

Instead of just using nature for our own gain, we need to return to our roots (both literally and figuratively) and recognize nature as a partner. There is no better way to reflect that than through the natural ingredients used in cosmetics, so here are 5 ways cosmetics work with nature to achieve a beautiful result on both ends.

Planting the Seeds for Healthy Skin

Our skin is our body’s first line of defense against anything from germs to scrapes that can cause harm, which is why people have always been looking for ways to keep it healthy. It turns out we don’t have to look too far for the best methods, because they might just be growing in a nearby garden. 

The purpose of moisturizing is to restore the water content of our skin, keeping it flexible, and replenish its natural protective barrier. The stratum corneum, the outermost layer of our skin, plays a crucial role in regulating the body’s water content, and can appear dry and flaky if it is not sufficiently hydrated, which can become a serious concern in people with skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. Humectants, substances that attract and bind to water, are a preferred ingredient in moisturizers seeing as they can draw water up from deeper layers of the skin to the stratum corneum and even from the air if humidity is above 70%. 

One well-known natural ingredient often used to help retain our skin’s moisture is the gel of aloe vera, a cactus-like succulent plant that grows in tropical regions around the world. It was used in ancient societies such as those of Greece and China for benefits such as wound healing which have since been verified. 

Aloe vera contains mucopolysaccharides, long-chain sugar molecules that are naturally found in the body, that function as humectants that help skin retain its moisture. It also promotes collagen and elastin production, two molecules that make skin more elastic. And the best part? Aloe vera’s sustainable cultivation practices, not needing much water and even preventing soil erosion, make it an excellent choice for brands that are seeking to be more conscious of their impact on the environment..

Another natural ingredient you might notice on the ingredients label of many cosmetics is jojoba oil. Hailing from the seeds of the jojoba shrub native to the arid parts of the United States and Mexico, it is the preferred choice of many moisturizers due to its similarity to sebum, the oil naturally produced by our skin, resulting in a smoothing effect that makes it a natural emollient.

Plant Extracts Saving the Day with Electrons 

There are countless microscopic reactions occurring in our skin cells at all times, and these can often yield highly reactive molecules called free radicals. Free radicals are missing a negatively charged particle called an electron, so they try to steal one from other molecules like proteins or DNA, damaging them in the process. 

This is where antioxidants come to save the day. These are molecules that bind with free radicals and neutralize them by providing them with the electron they desire. 

There are several natural antioxidants, with some common ones used in cosmetics being green tea extract and rosemary. Green tea extract contains antioxidants called catechins that provide it with potent antioxidation and anti-inflammatory effects, and studies have found similar effects in rosemary.

In order to maximize the beneficial effects of these ingredients, it is also important to clean off dead skin cells to reveal the newer layers underneath, which brings us to some natural exfoliants. 

An Explosive Exfoliant

Skincare involves more than just retaining moisture – it also involves exfoliating the skin to clear dead skin cells and unclog pores which, in addition to making the skin appear shinier, allow better absorption of moisturizer. 

One surprising exfoliant found in nature? Volcanic ash, or more specifically, certain minerals found in it. Evidence shows that bentonites and montmorillonites, two clay minerals found in volcanic ash, have several potential skin benefits, including improving wound healing and promoting skin hydration. Natural zeolitic volcanic tuff, a rock that forms from volcanic ash, has also been shown to have excellent exfoliation properties. 

However, it is important to consider that it can also cause skin irritation for some people, so it is important to always read the label of the product and for people to consider their own skin needs before using it. 

Minerals Blocking the Sun

While it is important to get some sunlight in moderation, the sun is one of the biggest concerns of skin care seeing as it can damage skin, leading to risks of cancer, sunburn, and skin aging. It is always important to protect against ultraviolet radiation.

Some ingredients that we have already discussed like aloe vera and green tea extract have been shown to have some protective properties against the sun, but these effects are minimal.

Mineral-based sunscreens are the best bet in terms of effectiveness and environmental safety, specifically those made from titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which are much safer for the marine environment than chemical sunscreens containing ingredients such as oxybenzone. It is important to keep in mind, however, that no sunscreen is completely safe for our oceans, so it is best to practice mindfulness when using it and opt for a hat when you can!

There’s Still a Long Way to Go

While cosmetics made from natural ingredients are more likely to come from brands aligned with sustainable practices, it is not a guarantee. The packaging might still be made from plastic or other similar nonbiodegradable materials, and using natural ingredients will not help the environment if they are harvested without any regard for the ecosystem from which they came.

The beauty industry alone contributes at least 120 billion tons of packaging waste every year. It is time for companies to make the shift to biodegradable packaging like wood plastics composites and cellulose-based materials to offset this worrying trend. 

What Can You Do? 

While there is still a long way to go in minimizing the toll the cosmetics industry has on the environment, there are a few things you can do to help.

First, sign our petition “The Fashion Industry Must Change” calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to create regulations in the fashion industry to help protect the environment.

If you want to show off your own sustainable fashion, send a 1-2 minute video to “My Planet My Closet” and inspire others to help our planet through their own personal fashion!

Remember, one common theme of all the beautification methods discussed in this article are that they are rooted in keeping our skin healthy. It’s time for us to return the favor to the world around us and help keep nature healthy, so that the world’s beauty can shine along with ours. 

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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You may have heard the saying that anyone can be a scientist, and it really is true! All it takes is a passion for discovery and the willingness to go out into the natural world and collect data. There is no concept that reconciles these two ideas better than citizen science.

Citizen science is defined as the voluntary participation of non-scientists in scientific research, often in collaboration with expert organizations. There are over 3,000 citizen science projects around the world dedicated to a variety of research subjects – everything from biodiversity to astronomy.

Let’s talk about the history of citizen science and how it has evolved over the years to help us learn more about our planet!

Beginnings in Birds and Tides

Though there may not have been a name for it, ordinary people have always contributed to the work of professional scientists. One of the first large-scale citizen science projects dates back to the summer of 1835, when an English historian named William Whewell enlisted thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic to help better understand and predict tide patterns, leading to the development of co-tidal charts that map tidal behavior. 

All kinds of people from sailors to regular citizens in 9 countries helped Whewell in his efforts, which eventually culminated in him being rewarded with the Royal Medal from the Royal Society in London in 1837, which is only granted for the most important and significant contributions to science.

It was not long before citizen science took off on the other side of the ocean. The William Whewell of the United States was Wells Cooke, and he was interested in figuring out bird migration patterns. He began recording the dates migratory birds arrived in 1880 and before long, others joined him in this mission. This eventually led to the formation of the North American Bird Phenology Program as well as a network of observers that spanned across the United States, Canada, and the West Indies. 

While the original program dissolved in 1970, there are more recent efforts dedicated to creating databases of these historical records.

Citizen science was not limited to just the migration patterns of birds and tides, many other seasonal events started to be tracked by citizen scientists. Throughout the 1900s, people would record their observations of the growth of seasonal flowers and migratory animals for example. In the 1950s, volunteers were asked to mail their data of lilacs and honeysuckles to the United States Department of Agriculture as a part of the organization’s first initiative that took place on such a large scale. 

It was only after decades of data collection that the term “citizen science” was officially coined by Alan Irwin and Richard Bonney in 1990 to describe the phenomenon of citizen volunteers making observations that contributed to scientific research.  Citizen science boomed in popularity. 

Teamwork Helps the Research Work 

It turns out that enlisting the public’s help in collecting data for research comes with a lot of benefits. The most obvious of these is that you can gain knowledge more rapidly and on a much wider scale. 

One clear example of this is Nature’s Notebook, a national citizen science effort established by the USA National Phenology network aimed at recording the occurrences of biological events that are dependent on seasonal changes. Launched in 2009, Nature’s Notebook already had 5 million data entries of plants and animal phenologies across 7,000 locations in the United States. And unlike in decades past, volunteers today only have to submit their observations on an app making it even simpler to collect this data.

Citizen science projects are not just limited to seasonal changes. There are projects dedicated to coral reefs such as the Australia-based CoralWatch where citizen scientists help determine the health of coral based on their color. There are also projects in astronomy, such as NASA’s Exoplanet Watch where individuals with their own backyard telescopes can help track planets beyond our  solar system, showing us that the sky really is the limit when it comes to citizen science!

Quantity Over Quality 

There is one concern often voiced when it comes to citizen science: its reliability. After all, shouldn’t science be left solely in the hands of the scientists?

One study found that in 62% of cases, data collected through citizen science was not significantly different from professional data. While this may seem like a large number, a much higher level of accuracy is often required when it comes to scientific research. 

This is not anything new, however. A study published in Nature in 2016 found that approximately 70% of 1500 scientists surveyed were unable to reproduce another scientist’s experiment, meaning that citizen science alone is not burdened with this problem. 

Plus, many citizen projects have certain mechanisms to ensure quality. One study  found that about 94% of projects were shown to have at least one such measure in place while over half had five or more. Furthermore, many individuals undergo training prior to data collection. 

While no method of data collection is absolutely foolproof, citizen science has proven itself to be a valuable tool as it allows researchers to collect large data sets that would have otherwise been too expensive to obtain.

Ready, Set, Collect Data! 

While most of us may not be prepared to document the migration patterns of our local birds or track the tides, you can still help contribute to the mission of helping our planet! 

First, test your knowledge of various climate and scientific topics with our quizzes! These will help you identify some gaps in your knowledge and what you should learn about next.

You can also take action and help contribute the goal of taking care of our planet by joining the Great Global Cleanup. Take a look at our Map of Events to find initiatives around the world that you can take part in or even register your own.

If there is anything that citizen science demonstrates, it’s that anyone can help contribute to growing scientific knowledge or help protect our planet. Remember, there is no better time to start than now.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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If there is any ecosystem that can do it all, it’s the coral reef. After all, what other underwater  habitat can support over a quarter of all marine species on Earth, protect our coastlines by absorbing 97% of wave impact, serve as a source of food for millions of human beings and thousands of other species, produce medicine and look amazing while doing it? 

But despite everything coral reefs do for our planet, they are also one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. They currently occupy about 0.1% of the Earth’s surface area, and it is estimated that half of the planet’s coral reefs have been lost since 1950. 

Climate change is the main culprit behind these worrying findings, and it is estimated that if global temperatures rise to 1.5º C above pre industrial times, up to 90% of tropical coral reefs may disappear by 2050. And with millions of tourists crowding these areas and using plastic materials that end up in our waters, our reefs are in more danger than ever.

That’s why every year during the third full week of July we recognize Coral Reef Awareness Week, which is dedicated to raising awareness for an ecosystem that does so much for us and our planet. Here are 5 major ways that climate change and pollution are impacting our coral reefs.

1. Flamboyant to Fading: Coral Bleaching

When you imagine a coral reef, you probably picture a stunning underwater landscape of vibrant colors and brilliant fish floating alongside them. The bright colors of coral reefs are their most recognizable feature, and unfortunately, as a result of climate change, these colors are fading. 

The striking shades of coral are mainly produced by microscopic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside coral tissue. Coral is an animal and cannot make its own food, so it relies on zooxanthellae to turn sunlight into sugars through photosynthesis. A molecule called chlorophyll is what allows zooxanthellae to absorb light and gives them their distinct pigment. The coral also helps with this task by producing their own protein pigments that can absorb light for their microscopic partners, making their colors appear even brighter. In return, the coral receives 90% of the food made by the zooxanthellae. 

But when the water becomes too warm, coral get stressed and expel the zooxanthellae in response. This causes reefs to not only lose their colors, rendering them a ghostly white in a process known as coral bleaching, but also their main food source, putting them at risk of starving to death if conditions do not change.

The world is currently in the midst of a fourth global bleaching event that has impacted nearly 84% of the world’s reefs between January 1, 2023 and May 31, 2025. As a result, in 2023, Jamaica was the epicenter of what was the most severe coral bleaching event in the Caribbean to date. Approximately 90% of the nation’s corals died in a two month span from September to October. 

2. Acidic Waters

Ocean acidification is sometimes known as the “osteoporosis of the sea.” Just like the disease that weakens the bones of those afflicted, the increasingly acidic nature of our oceans as a result of climate change eats away at the skeletons and shells of various marine organisms, including coral. 

Our oceans are becoming more acidic because of the increase in carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Around 30% of this carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, where it combines with water molecules to form carbonic acid. This weak acid then releases hydrogen ions, lowering the pH of the water and making it more acidic.

The reason this is so bad for coral reefs is because their skeletons are made of a material called aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate. In order to make this material, carbonate ions must be present in the seawater. However, carbonate ions bond with excess hydrogen ions as oceans become more acidic, leaving less of this vital mineral for the coral, which can result in their skeletons dissolving. 

In the Caribbean, action is being taken to monitor this threat to coral reefs with an ocean acidification buoy that was installed in a coral reef in Puerto Rico in 2008. This buoy chiefly measures carbon dioxide levels in the air and water to monitor the acidity of the waters and help scientists and local communities find new ways to tackle this problem.

3. Extreme Weather with Extreme Results

Many of us are familiar with the devastation that hurricanes cause to thousands of communities on land each year. Just as vulnerable to these destructive storms are coral reef communities underwater. 

The warming of the planet as a result of greenhouse gases affects the water cycle and changes weather patterns, leading to more extreme weather events. In the past 30 years, the intensity of cyclones has risen, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. As oceans warm, it is predicted that cyclones will become even more intense with higher wind speeds and heavier rain. 

Coral reefs are expected to experience more physical damage as the intensity of these cyclones increases. In Southwest Madagascar, there was a decrease of up to 45.8% of coral cover at 19 sites between 2012 and 2015 as a result of cyclones. While the average coral cover increased to above pre-cyclone levels after 2 years, the increased frequency of such extreme storms holds worrisome connotations for the future safety of reefs around the globe.

4. A Plastic Parasite

Plastic pollution is another major concern for coral reefs. Scientists at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that microplastics, miniscule particles of plastic, can impact coral growth and adhere to their surface, making it harder for them to obtain food and even forcing them to expend valuable energy to remove them.

Most reefs on the planet appear to be impacted in some way by plastic pollution. A Nature study found that 77 out of 84 surveyed reefs in three separate oceans contained human-generated debris, including reefs previously thought to be untouched, with macroplastics accounting for 88% of this detritus. 

These findings have inspired new potential measures for reducing plastic pollution, such as designating mesophotic, or low-light, reefs as protected areas and developing biodegradable fishing gear, but there is still a long way to go to fight this plastic problem.

5. Blocking the Sun – And the Future of our Reefs

As the Earth becomes warmer, you might find yourself reaching for sunblock more frequently for protection against the sun’s rays. However, though sunblock may prevent us from getting sunburned, it is actually doing harm to coral reefs.

Over 3,500 skincare products across the globe contain a sunscreen chemical called oxybenzone, or BP-3, that has been found to increase rates of coral bleaching, damage coral DNA, and lead to abnormal coral growth. Benzophenone-2, or BP-2, is a similar chemical that has been used since the 1960s that can kill juvenile coral. 

These chemicals enter the seas when sunscreen washes off of swimmers as well as through wastewater. BP-2 is particularly concerning seeing as it is not removed from many municipal wastewater treatment facilities, allowing it to become particularly prevalent in Caribbean and Indo-Pacific waters. 

These harmful chemicals exacerbate the effects of climate change on our coral reefs, resulting in bans on sunscreens containing these chemicals in places such as Hawaii, whose ban on harmful sunscreen chemicals went into effect in January 2021. Seeing as about 14,000 tons of sunscreen end up in our oceans annually, forgoing sunscreens with BP-2 or BP-3 is more important than ever. 

What can you do?

To help protect the world’s coral reefs during Coral Reef Awareness Week and beyond, there are a few things you can do.

Firstly, check whatever sunblock you are wearing for harmful chemicals and try to swap it for ones that are mineral-based and do not harm coral. 

You can also support EARTHDAY.ORG initiatives such as “Our Power, Our Planet” to advocate for a shift to renewable forms of energy and prevent the further release of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, or sign the Global Plastics Treaty to help decrease plastic pollution around the globe. 

Let’s return the favor to the coral reefs that do so much for us and our planet and take action to protect these biologically rich marine environments!

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

The post Why Oceans are Losing Their Color: Coral Reefs and Climate Change appeared first on Earth Day.

On June 26, we celebrate a very special day around the globe: World Refrigeration Day, which is dedicated to recognizing the importance of cooling technology. With refrigerators keeping everything from our perishable foods to medicines fresh, cooling is truly a crucial part of our everyday lives. 

Keeping cool is just as important for our planet. The Earth is constantly being bombarded by rays from the sun. This heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide and methane that trap it and cause the planet to become warmer in a process known as the greenhouse effect. Since 1990, the warming impact of these greenhouse gases has increased by more than 51%, making it more important than ever to take action to protect our climate.

While refrigeration works great for us if we are lucky enough to have access to electricity, our planet does not have a giant space fan or a fridge and has had to get a lot more creative in its 4.5 billion years of existence. Here are 4 ways the Earth keeps itself from overheating, and how climate change is messing them up. 

1. Reflecting Sunlight With Glaciers

Glaciers, ice sheets, and snow are some of the Earth’s clever methods of cooling itself. The Earth becomes warmer when it absorbs heat from the sun. But instead of absorbing this heat, glaciers, being primarily made up of ice and snow, reflect it back into space. Why? Well ice and snow both have a very high albedo, a measure of how reflective a surface is, meaning that almost all of the solar radiation that hits them is reflected back into space, sparing the planet from further heating.

However, as global temperatures rise at unprecedented rates, glaciers around the world are melting faster than ever. Recent studies estimate that between 1985 and 2022, Greenland’s ice sheets have lost about 1,140 billion tons of ice. If current trends continue, the Arctic is projected to experience its first ice-free summer in 2034. 

What compounds this issue is that the melting of ice and snow exposes the underlying surfaces which have much lower albedos, and therefore reflect less heat back into space and instead absorb it. As a result, ice sheets and glaciers will melt even more rapidly, thus continuing a disastrous cycle. 

2. Freezing Carbon With Permafrost 

Permafrost makes up nearly 15% of the land surface in the North Hemisphere and is defined as any soil, sand, or rock that has measured below 0ºC (or 32ºF) for at least 2 years. While permafrost is normally found beneath frozen ground that thaws and refreezes annually, the deeper layers of permafrost, ranging in depth from 1 meter to greater than 1500 meters, remain frozen all year round. 

Permafrost helps keep the planet cool by acting as a freezer for greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide. The freezing temperatures of permafrost prevent organic matter from decomposing, meaning it is not released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. For thousands of years permafrost was a perfect carbon sink, storing 1,460-1,600 metric tons of organic carbon, which is twice as much as the amount currently in the atmosphere. 

But now as global temperatures rise and permafrost begins to melt these carbon sinks are thawing and likely to release the carbon dioxide they store.  When permafrost thaws, microbes decompose the previously frozen organic matter, resulting in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which further accelerates climate change.

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Thawing permafrost does not only have grim implications for the planet, but also human infrastructure. As much as 80% of the buildings in Russian cities like Norilsk City and 30% of the roads on the Tibetan plateau are experiencing damage as a result of the permafrost that they are built on melting. 

It is currently projected that 20% of the world’s permafrost may melt by 2040.

3. Capturing Carbon With Rocks

Studies have found that the weathering of rocks can regulate the Earth’s temperatures over the course of long geological time scales. Here’s how: carbonic acid, the form that carbon dioxide takes when it dissolves in rainwater, reacts with minerals, like magnesium and calcium, which are released as rock weathers. This in turn forms new rocks like calcium carbonate, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help to reduce the greenhouse effect.

This process usually takes millions of years, so it is not likely to mitigate the immediate and current effects of climate change. 

However, enhanced weathering (EW) is a new technique based on this natural process that is currently being used to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It consists of dispersing ground silicate rock particles to increase the rate of weathering in order to reduce the greenhouse effect. 

A field trial of EW on farms in the United States Corn Belt not only captured on average 10.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare, but also increased maize and soybean yields by 12 to 16%. 

Studies show that widely implementing EW on farmland could help the United States reach net zero emissions by 2050. While mobilization of this technology will likely take decades before we reach that point due to its cost, it is an important step towards cooling down the Earth. And it’s a trick the Earth’s been using for millions of years!

4. Cooling the Planet with Plants

Plants are crucial for life on Earth, as they produce much of the oxygen we need to survive. In fact, terrestrial trees and plants produce about 28% of the Earth’s oxygen — the other 70% comes from marine plants, like phytoplankton in our oceans.

Plants also contribute to keeping the Earth cool. Through photosynthesis, plants not only make oxygen but also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere thus removing a major greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Trees are especially effective carbon sinks because their wood stores large amounts of carbon and decomposes slowly, keeping that carbon locked away from the atmosphere for many years. 

Recent research has also revealed that microbes living on tree bark can help remove methane—a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about  30% of global warming—from the atmosphere. This means trees not only capture carbon dioxide, but also play a surprising role in reducing other greenhouse gases.

Plants can also help cool the Earth by naturally releasing biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). BVOCs form particles called secondary organic aerosols that make clouds more reflective, helping them cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight, similar to how glaciers do it. 

Unfortunately, deforestation threatens our world’s vegetation as 10 million hectares of forest are lost each year and 70 million hectares are affected by fires. It is estimated that by 2050, approximately 70% of the Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest in the world, could be destroyed, indicating a major threat to our world’s vegetation and its cooling potential.

What Can You Do?

It is clear that some of Earth’s best methods for regulating its temperatures are natural ones. Let’s help the planet – here are some ways YOU can help contribute to keeping our planet cool.

First, you can support EARTHDAY.ORG’s theme for 2025 Our Power, Our Planet, a call for renewable energy generation to be tripled globally by 2030. Solar and wind are methods of generating energy without releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and keeping us all cooler. 

You can also sign our petition Tell Businesses: Stop Deforestation to put sustainability first and prevent the loss of our forests globally and why not buy a tree with our Canopy Project. 

As you take a moment to  appreciate the convenience of modern technology on World Refrigeration Day, remember the only thing cooler than your refrigerators, freezers, or air conditioning is keeping our planet cool as well!

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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