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Ziggy Makes Environmental Statement for Earth Day
Ziggy Makes Environmental Statement for Earth Day
Published 04-17-03
Submitted by Earth Day Network
Every year, millions of people use Earth Day to focus their efforts on important environmental issues. For the past twelve years, Earth Day Network has helped by providing issue-based activity guides. Ziggy joins Earth Day Network to spread the word of the environmental awareness campaign, encouraging people to take part in making our environment safe and healthy.
This year, the Earth Day theme is "Water for Life," coinciding with the UN International Year of Freshwater. As essential to our lives as well as all other life on Earth, Earth Day Network provides some facts about the Earth's water supply:
A fixed amount of water exists on and around the Earth. Although 70% of the Earth is water, most of it is not fit to drink. Only a tiny fraction (approximately 1%) of the Earth's water is fresh, clean, and accessible for human use.
More than 1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water. Over 3 million people in the world die each year as a result of preventable water related disease.
Rainwater runoff from city streets may contain metals, oil, and other pollutants. Once these substances contaminate groundwater, it is very difficult and expensive to clean it up.
Since 1950, the global use of water has more than tripled.
By 2025, it is predicted that 3.5 billion people world-wide will experience water shortages.
Tom Wilson II, artist of the daily comic strip icon, Ziggy, explains Ziggy's involvement for Earth Day and the campaign for awareness on fresh water this year. "Everything and anything happens to Ziggy and he always looks at things through his optimistic eyes. By helping to express environmental concerns, Ziggy believes he can help raise awareness of water concerns, lower the effects of negative influences on the environment, and ask his friends and fans to participate in their local Earth Day events to help celebrate nature," Wilson said.
Earth Day Network is the nonprofit coordinating body of worldwide Earth Day activities, which has a goal to promote a healthy environment and a peaceful, just, sustainable world by spreading environmental awareness through educational materials and publications, and by organizing events, activities, and annual campaigns. The network, which includes more than 5,000 organizations in 184 countries, was founded by the organizers of the original Earth Day in 1970, Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes, and is based in Washington, DC.
With Earth Day Network, Ziggy wants everyone to know that anyone can play a part in helping the environment. Ziggy requests all his fans to join him on Earth Day in being more environmentally conscience, water conservative, energy efficient, and encourage others to do the same.
"Ziggy's got it exactly right," said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network. "Everyone can help protect the planet with small steps to conserve water. You can go out and participate in group activities, or take simple steps with things you can do at home," she said.
According to Earth Day Network, Ziggy is resounding some of the simple things anyone can do at home and in their community, like:
Turn off the Water - Turn off the water when you brush your teeth or shave, and fix those leaky faucets.
Clean Up a Stretch of a Local Stream - Visit the nearest body of water, lake, stream, ocean, or estuary. Look for and catalog evidence of human use and occupation. Is there garbage in or near the water? Sort and classify the garbage. Is the water discolored or spotted with foam? Is there visible life in the water or at the edge? Make a survey of the local fish markets to find out where their fish comes from. Ask about the quality of the local bodies of water.
Install a low-flow, energy efficient showerhead. You'll be singing in the shower, "We're in the Money," as a low-flow, energy-efficient showerhead saved 27 cents a day on water and 51 cents on electricity. Earth Day can be the day to install low-flow toilets, shower-heads, and faucet aerators.
Contact your local recycling office to find out how to dispose of nasty chemicals that can pollute the water supply. Paints, solvents, pesticides, wood finishers, and non-biodegradable household cleaners are chemicals that many people have around their homes. If disposed of improperly, they can seep into the ground or enter the water supply. Even batteries are harmful and toxic.
Monitor lawn and garden care. Fertilizers and pesticides can seep into the ground, or run off into a near by water supply. Also, don't waste water and kill plants by over watering gardens and lawns, and don't water mid-day when the sun will evaporate the water your lawn needs.
Beginning this year, Earth Day Network's new goal is to provide educational materials for students to take civic action to protect the environment. April 22nd is an opportunity to highlight student environmental efforts, integrate service learning, and encourage civic participation. Earth Day Network is providing, a "What's in Your Water?" guide. In the guide, there is basic information about water quality and lesson plans with simple, fun hands-on water quality tests. The guide helps teachers and students measure the health of local water resources and take beginning steps toward becoming responsible citizens. There are also many suggestions for action and civic participation based on your "snapshot" results. An inexpensive test kit is available or you can create your own simplified version from the website, www.earthday.net
Ziggy & Friends, Inc. is the company Wilson founded as the artistic and creative force behind his kind and charismatic comic character creation. For the past 17 years, Tom Wilson II has been drawing the daily Ziggy comic panel, the Sunday Ziggy comic strip and authoring the collection of Ziggy books in conjunction with his father's creative influence in the company. Though retired from the day-to-day operation of Ziggy & Friends, the senior Wilson's creative influence is still apparent.
The Ziggy comic panel is syndicated nationally to more than 600 newspapers through Kansas City, MO-based Universal Press Syndicate, a division of Andrews McMeel Universal and the largest independent newspaper syndicate in the world. The licensing for Ziggy is handled through RLC, Ltd, ...a licensing company, as agent for Andrews McMeel Universal. More information on Ziggy is available at www.ziggyzone.com and for Earth Day Network at www.earthday.net.
To find out how to be involved in an Earth Day event near you, visit the Earth Day Network list of projects and programs at http://www.earthday.net/dir/group.asp
