Why do we need an Earth Day? Shouldn't responsible management of the environment be something we endeavor for on a regular basis? It is interesting to note that there are more and more of these awareness events continue to happen, the crazier and crazier I think they become. Think about how much trash is generated at one of these events.  Even if it recycled/recycleable, there is energy used in reprocessing the material, along with the manpower to clean it up, protect the attendees, and the energy wasted to get to one of these events.  We won't even get into the coincidence/fact the the first Earth Day is on the 100th anniversary of Vladmir Lenin's date of birth.  Take that fact with a grain when you celebrate Earth Day. The Earth Hour is even more ridiculous.  They ask you to turn off non-essential lights, etc for an hour at the end of March.  Define what might be non-essential, especially for a house getting 3 children ready for bed.  You might get more energy savings if you do it during the daylight hours, and encourage people to do outdoor activities in celebration.  It may not be as visible to people, but more that likely better for people and the environment. It is good to be a steward of the environment, but please don't tell me what is socially acceptable to do to leave a better place for my children and grandchildren, nor legislatate or dictate to me the "religion" of ecology.