Earth Day is a good reminder to take an interest in the climate and the environment. But anything done on Earth Day can be done every day of the year, and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette says it's OK to start small.
“Oftentimes we might think that our individual actions don’t matter. It’s too big of a problem, what can we do?" he said. "And the answer is that individual action is everything.”
Camden County’s Sustainability Campus in Blackwood is making that easier by opening an education center later this month, where people can get lessons on gardening, composting, recycling and more.
The Sustainability Campus grows flowers and plants that get distributed all over the county. They also grow food to sustain residents — even animals at the Philadelphia Zoo, like Mommy, a Galapagos tortoise. This month, the zoo is celebrating the 90th anniversary of her arrival.
LaTourette says if everyone makes an effort, it can have a tangible impact on the environment.
“The willingness to go out of one’s way to do a little better by the Earth we share ... that has a positive climate benefit," he said. "If you can afford an electric vehicle when it’s time to get a new car, invest.”
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He says while we cannot control what other counties like China do with pollution, we can try our best here, set a good example and demand accountability from elected officials.
LeTourette also touted reduction, reuse and recycling of plastics, which will make it easier to use fewer petroleum products. New Jersey’s ban on plastic bags and other single-use plastics is less than two weeks away, and LaTourette says it will be an adjustment for people at first but it won’t be long before consumers realize those bags are not necessary anyway.
