Shaw celebrates Earth Day

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Earth Day 2013 will be celebrated worldwide on or around April 22. This year's theme is "The Face of Climate Change."

Earth Day was established in the spring of 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson, inspiring a movement that had more than 20 million demonstrators in a number of cities across the U.S., and creating an "environmental conscience" not seen before in America.

The movement worked, forcing Congress to establish the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 1970. Since its inception, the goal of the EPA has been to create a healthier and cleaner environment for the American people.

Shaw AFB is no exception and strives to provide a safe, clean and healthy environment for not only the base residents and workers, but also our neighbors, local communities and state.

The environmental flight from the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron, works diligently with both state and federal regulators in every environmental aspect to ensure reduction, protection and safety from any and all pollutants.

Protecting the environment is a complex endeavor. It requires smart and dedicated people who utilize the latest science and technologies to combat the ever evolving problems associated with water, air and noise pollution.

The good news; we can all do our part to win the battle, even if we only do the basics of recycling and conserving resources. If you ever have questions about what to do with waste products, especially petroleum based or electronic products or how to conserve any resource, i.e. water, electricity, etc., go online and you can find an enormous amount of information on things you can do to help the environment.

Earth Day 2013 for Shaw will be celebrated April 19 with an informational set of displays in the base exchange foyer from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a tree planting and ceremony set for 2:30 p.m. at the old BX location. The tree planting and ceremony are to commemorate the 15th year of Shaw AFB receiving the national "Tree City USA" accreditation from the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The S.C. State Urban Forester will be on hand to present Shaw AFB with the award and speak on the benefit of trees to the environment.