Earth Day

For almost 30 years now, Hieronimus & Co. in its various radio broadcasts, television, print, online, and other public forums has addressed the increasing weather extremes as a result of global warming. This discussion began in earnest in 1985 among scientists, and only now is it becoming self-evident with the October surprise of Hurricane Sandy, not to mention the severe droughts, floods, record temperatures worldwide, and other anomalous weather patterns and their deleterious impacts on animals, nature and humans.

The 72,500-acre Aberdeen Proving Ground has been named to the Top Earth Day Champions list for its success in reducing harmful carbon emission and energy waste. The facility has a goal of reducing energy consumption 30 percent by 2015. Aberdeen Proving Ground is ranked third on the Earth Day Champions list; has reduced its carbon footprint by more than 24,499 metric tons - the equivalent of planting 5,224 acres of pine forests; and has modernized and upgraded more than 2,000 buildings.

The City of Aberdeen's annual Earth Day celebration drew a good crowd to Festival Park Saturday, as the weather cooperated with sunny skies and mild temperatures. There were plenty of games made from recycled materials for the youngsters to play and plenty of animals for them to see and touch, including turtles, a green iguana, a chinchilla and rabbits. Earth Day also featured a number of environmental exhibits and activities such as face-painting and tie-dyed shirt making.

Mother Nature brought relief to a parched Baltimore on Sunday, but the persistent rain didn't dampen the spirits at the Earth Day festivities in Hampden. "We had a few hundred people come through today," said Don Barton, 29, an organizer of Sunday's Localize It! 2012, one of a series of events during the week to celebrate Earth Day in the Baltimore area. "People are braving the rain and seem to be having a good time. " Localize It!, sponsored by the Baltimore Free Farm, promotes local food, music and vendors.

Earth Day weekend is upon us.  I can tell because my email inbox is jammed with pitches for "green" products and corporate campaigns: Clothing made from recycled plastic bottles; natural skin care products; hybrid auto accessories, even pet waste collection bags. Marketing has its place, I suppose. But in keeping with the origins of Earth Day, there are plenty of opportunities to demonstrate concern about the state of our planet and community, without having to buy stuff. Here are some: Baltimore Green Works is holding a week's worth of activities from April 21 to April 28 in celebration of Earth Day. On Saturday, there'll be tree plantings and other activities in the morning, followed by EcoFest at Druid Hill Park from noon to 5 p.m. Gardening workshops, hikes and walks, bike rides, entertainment and a tree giveaway.

Volunteers can help keep Laurel's Granville Gude Park clean by participating in an Earth Day Park Cleanup on Saturday, April 28. Participants will meet at the lake house, 8300 Mulberry St., at 9 a.m., and should wear appropriate clothing for working outdoors. Trash bags and gloves will be provided, and a limited number of Earth Day T-shirts will be available for volunteers. Students can earn service hours and should bring their own forms. For more information, call the Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation at 301-725-7800.

Earth Day has become more than a day where Americans clean parks and plant trees or flowers. The American Council on Exercise is using it as a day to promote outdoor activity. They are using it as a day to encourage people to trade the treadmill for a walk in the park or the weight bench for an outdoor yoga class. Here are five workouts they are suggesting for Earth Day, which is Sunday. 1.  Go Off-Road : A great way to escape the hectic city life and reduce stress is to hike in nature . Bring along some water and a snack for shorter hikes.

Happy Earth Day, dear readers, It's this Sunday, April 22. In celebration, on Saturday, (April 21) join the annual River Sweep event along the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Tydings Park to the Susquehanna Museum at the Lock House. For details, phone 410-457-2482, 410-939-7644 or 410-808-6118 or email peter.d.green@att.net . April 22 is Earth Day celebrated by people around the world to build awareness and inspire environmental change. Visit http://www.earthday.net . April 27 is National Arbor Day - plant a tree!

Washington Space Shuttle Discovery, National Air and Space Museum The space shuttle Discovery soared around the Washington Monument and the White House in a salute to the nation's capital Tuesday before landing for the last time near its new home at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex in northern Virginia. Discovery will be transferred from NASA into the museum's collection at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19 in an outdoor ceremony open to the public.

Disturbingly, come the morning of April 21, a swarm of volunteers will have no trouble filling bag after bag with garbage collected from the banks of the Susquehanna River from the Conowingo Dam downriver to the mouth at Havre de Grace and Perryville. It's disturbing because last year a substantial amount of garbage was collected from the same river banks. And the year before that, going back quite a few years at this point. The plan is for volunteers to meet in Tydings Park in Havre de Grace, Community Park and Marina Park in Perryville, Marina Park and Octoraro Creek in Port Deposit and on Garrett Island starting at 8:30 a.m. on the 21st, a Saturday, and fan out to clean up the land along the river.