Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
Doing something simple can be a powerful way to show you care about the planet. This Earth Day, we've put together a few of our favorite "small things that add up to a big difference" and made it easy for you to add your personal Earth Day pledge to our national map. And sometimes little things pay off big. That's why this Earth Day every Eco Hero will be entered to win a free trip to the Caribbean for a five-night vacation at Vieques Island's Inn on the Blue Horizon, including an excursion to an incredible bioluminescent bay and a $1,000 gift certificate from BCBG Max Azria. Add your pledge now. What a Difference a Year Makes One year ago, Earth Day was clouded by news of what would become the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history: the BP oil disaster. This year, we have good news from the heart of coal country and real momentum in the fight for clean air and clean water. But, as Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune writes in his blog, we already know the secret to saving the planet. Now we just need to do it. Celebrate John Muir (and His Beard) Today is John Muir Day, a good excuse to honor the naturalist, author, and founder of the Sierra Club. We've been excited all week about the new PBS documentary, John Muir in the New World, which looks at Muir's amazing life and environmental legacy. Check your local listings or watch it online. And for a slightly more irreverent Muir birthday celebration, see our hirsute salute to Muir's beard! Change Starts From the Bottom Up For Earth Day, the Sierra Student Coalition partnered with PACT, a company that uses fair-trade and sustainable practices, on a line of anti-coal underwear that will help support the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign (10 percent of sales). Insider readers can get a special 25 percent discount on their own pair of "kick ash" undies (or any other PACT product) by using the code SC25 while ordering. Join the Sierra Club for Earth Day! Support the planet by becoming a member this Earth Day. Your membership supports our year-round efforts to protect wild lands and wildlife, keep our air and water free from pollution, and promote a clean-energy future. Through Earth Day, you can join for just $15 and receive a free gift! Join today! Help Take Some Kids Camping! This Earth Day, the Sierra Club has teamed up with Groupon to support our Inner City Outings program. Inner City Outings volunteers help more than 14,000 children every year enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly through hiking, boating, and camping adventures. Groupon is offering its members the chance to provide much needed help -- so these kids will be able to experience the outdoors, many for the first time. Please check out this special matching-gift offer available through Groupon. When you contribute just $10, Inner City Outings receives a $20 donation! Nests: Cradles to the Next Generation Did you know female hummingbirds bind their tiny nests together with spiderwebs? Birds possess an innate ability to build delicate nests from grass, twigs, or mud that regularly pass the most difficult test for any species: They cradle and protect the next generation. That's something we can all take to heart this Earth Day. See more amazing avian creations in this special Sierra magazine feature. Keep Mercury Out of Our Bodies Every year, coal-fired power plants spew 50 tons of mercury, and some of it eventually ends up in our bodies. At greatest risk are pregnant women and small children. Now, after years of delays, the EPA has proposed a Clean Air Act standard that would keep more than 90 percent of the mercury caused by burning coal out of the atmosphere. It would prevent hundreds of thousands of illnesses and up to 17,000 premature deaths each year. This Earth Day, please take a moment to show your support for finally stopping this attack on the health of all Americans.
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