On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across America celebrated the first Earth Day. It was a time when cities were buried under their own smog and polluted rivers caught fire. Now Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe. Through the combined efforts of the U.S. government, grassroots organizations, and citizens like you, what started as a day of national environmental recognition has evolved into a world-wide campaign to protect our global environment.

Below are just a few changes you can make in your daily life to make a big difference:

-RECYCLE

-Give up the water bottle habit. Buy a home water filter and re-useable bottle.

-If you're like me, you haven't kicked that daily Starbucks habit. Get a travel coffee mug, the baristas will gladly fill it with your morning triple grande soy latte.

-Use Energy Star Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs. Did you know...

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Have other ideas on how to protect the enviroment and minimize your "Carbon Footprint"? Leave a comment and share your tips!