First observed on May 30 of 1868, Memorial Day 
began as Decoration Day- a day to decorate the graves of the Civil War deceased with flowers. It was not until after WWI this continued marked time of remembrance expanded to honor those who lost life in all American wars. In 1971 Memorial Day was named a national holiday to honor those who have died in service to our nation. December of 2000 saw the creation of the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance - when the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act†to encourage people of the USA to commemorate those who gave their lives to protect our nation’s freedom providing its people with so much opportunity.
As a heartfelt thank you goes out on Memorial Day to all those who have protected our great nation, it is only right to also consider the protection of our nation’s natural resources. It is wasteful to abuse the natural environment of a nation where so many lost their lives to protect. While we all cannot fight in wars to protect our nation, all of us most certainly can  take action to protect our nation’s natural resources. How many of us really reduce – reuse – recycle? Our nation’s landfills are overflowing with non-biodegradable products. Did you know eighty percent of all water bottles used end up in our landfills? In addition plastic bottles require millions of barrels of oil every year to produce not to mention the immense amount of carbon dioxide created to transport the bottles to store. In addition to these negative costs on the environment bottled water monetarily costs so much more than using a reusable container filled with tap water. Water, soil, and air pollution of our nation’s environment most often point to man-made waste like household garbage, waste from manufacturing processes, and agricultural runoff. Excessive use of fertilizers and toxic chemicals leaking into the environment cause massive damage to marine and plant life and endanger human health. Conserving use of natural resources, choosing ecofriendly products, and recycling, are easy ways to protect the natural environment of our nation that we all need to use in our daily lives. Considerations include;
- ceasing use of non-biodegradable plastic- bags, bottles, and containers, and replace with reusable ones
- recycling so non-biodegradable products can be used to make new
- protecting forests by replacing traditional wood pulp paper and wood furniture with those from recycled or sustainable resources like hemp or bamboo
- avoiding contamination of air, waterways and soil with toxic chemicals through use of green manufacturers and organic products
- replacing natural gas use with solar, hydro, or wind power
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On Memorial Day as we remember and pay tribute to the lives lost in protecting our great nation we all need to begin our own action plan to protect our nation’s natural resources. And in a silent moment on this day of remembrance we all need to give thanks to the Americans who plant trees and gardens, feed wildlife, use organic products, recycle, are energy conscious, cleanup trash in our waterways and parks, advocate for clean manufacturing, and spend countless hours on environmental studies and viable eco-friendly solutions to maintain the health of our environment.Â
