Next Tuesday is Earth Day, a time to recognize the need to protect the world’s environmental resources.

Environmental advocates emphasize the need to take action now rather than waiting until environmental conditions become worse. For some species, it’s already too late.

I recently ordered a book from a book catalog about extinct animals. It contains photographs of the creatures, along with short readable descriptions of how they became extinct.

Some say we shouldn’t worry about extinction. They point to natural history and to the vast number of extinctions that have occurred at least since the age of the dinosaurs. It has often been a naturally occurring process.

Evidence shows, however, that man-made factors can contribute to extinctions. Both the passenger pigeon and the Carolina parakeet disappeared in the early 20th century. They flew in large flocks, and were therefore heavily affected by the disappearance of native habitat.

There’s sometimes a tendency to think of endangered species as something that mainly occurs in tropical rain forests. It actually still affects North America, including southwestern Minnesota.

One of the foremost examples of current local threats to species involves the Topeka Shiner, a minnow-sized fish that lives in shallow streams. It’s been affected by long-term changes in water quality.

Conservation agencies, with voluntary help from many landowners, have worked for more than 50 years to improve environmental conditions. Besides the protection of habitat, it improves soil health and safeguards water resources.

It’s important to see a connection between the big picture of conservation and the small things individuals can do at home.

There are at least four main actions that could be taken to celebrate Earth Day. All of them help to improve environmental awareness. When everyone’s efforts are added together, it could be enough to help many bird, fish, mammal, amphibian and insect populations.

One possibility is to plant a garden. It takes work, but the efforts to care for it pay off in the end with colorful flowers and great tasting vegetables.

Someone who lives in an apartment can still have a container garden, which involves less of a need for space and less labor.

Another option for Earth Day is to take a nature walk or at least spend time in the outdoors. If it’s like a typical late April day in the local area, we can at least sit outside with a cup of coffee.

Several additional options exist for environmentally friendly practices at home. Recycling, waste reduction and composting can all help to prevent the need for large new additions to landfills. Land around existing landfills can serve as buffers for conservation.

Last but not least, it can help to volunteer in our communities. Many towns sponsor clean up days. Many community groups undertake environmental projects such as Adopt A Highway.

Earth Day should be a special occasion, but it shouldn’t be the only time of year that we think about caring for our planet.

It’s something that should be kept in mind every day of the year, in all the small decisions we make in our personal lives. It shouldn’t just be something that we leave to professionals.

We still have examples of pollution, especially non-point pollution that comes from many different places rather than just one particular source. Soil erosion takes place on every farm field. It also occurs in forests, where it is partly kept in check by fallen leaves.

By working together, we can accomplish a large amount of resource protection. Helpfully every yearly Earth Day serves as a reminder to keep going toward that goal. It should encourage everyone to get involved.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent