Remember being a kid and asking mom and dad why there was a Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, then thinking you were so sly to ask, “Why isn’t there a kid’s day?” The inevitable answer was always, “Every day is kid’s day.”

Well, sometimes we say the same thing to Mother Earth. Why does she get a whole day, while we get nothing? Well, I’m sure she would tell us the same thing our parents did. We treat every day as though it was our own special day sometimes. We do what we please and what’s most convenient for us – even if it means disregarding the Earth.

Earth Day began in 1970 and has done pretty well for itself ever since. Just as it started then with young people – particularly college students – so it continues the same way. Sure, there were more bell-bottoms and flower power backing those during the first year, but now we have something even better: the Internet.

Go online to any number of Web sites, including earthday.net and earthday.gov, and you’ll find great advice for how to take action at the workplace or home, as well as information about events you can attend today. KentNewsNet also has a few on-campus event options. We’re pretty lucky to be able to contact other Earth Day enthusiasts and really make our movement into something bigger than we could imagine.

Now, call it a fad if you’d like, but the “green” movement has really taken over recently. Is it wrong if it’s the new, hip thing to do? It’s a heck of a lot better for you and others to pick up litter than it is to wear unattractive boots in the middle of summer. If making it “cool” and getting celebrities involved is the only way to get some people interested, then so be it. We’ll take all the help we can get.

This fad could help you live longer. It could help you feel better both physically and mentally. It could mean a better view of nature. It could mean your children get to live a little easier knowing they won’t have to clean up after both themselves and you.

If you’re a little more aware of your planet today, don’t make it a one-day thing. Go above and beyond, pick up twice the trash you normally would or make twice the noise about pollution you otherwise do. Not every day is Earth Day, just as not every day is Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. But just as mom and dad taught us, we can’t have an “us” day every day of the year. Let’s put more time than just one day aside for making a difference on the planet.

Happy Earth Day.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board..