Most of us private citizens do not know the real meaning of Earth Day. It was first conceived in April 22nd 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. He was a advent environmentalist and in this time in office pushed through many bills that have demonstrated to be very beneficial to the environment. The main purpose of Earth Day was to unite the different environmental groups nationwide and provide a platform for them to send home the message of conservation.

The main theme of this movement was ultimately to push through reform for conservation and to drive home the need for action now. It provided environmentalists around the world avenue to get their message across to governments and large corporations to change their practices in favor of green production and farming.

As a result of their efforts great progress has been seen in two main areas, namely the usage of renewable resources and also the production and distribution of natural products which were made with the overall environment in mind. A large part of the conservation message also was regarding the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and the horrible damage that they do to the environment over the long-run.

Over the years since the introduction of synthetic fertilizers, their true costs are slowly being felt by long term users of these damaging products. The huge initial crop yields are not long lasting. Over time yields fade and soil fertility drops dramatically as soil is damaged and even sometimes killed due to the chemical leaching and burning they do. As a result soil is subjected to the risk of desertification and soon nothing can crow on the land resulting ultimately and farmer bankruptcy and destroyed land.

Synthetic chemical fertilizers are not only known to destroy soils but are also shown to have devastating affects on water systems surrounding farms. The problem is that chemical fertilizers are highly soluble and thus can leach off soil and follow water into local water systems. The boom in nutrients that chemical fertilizers provide means that weeds and algae will grow uncontrollably and basically suffocate the water system. Eventually all the fish will die causing severe damage to the local ecosystem.

The best method to mitigate this problem is to shift from the use of synthetic chemical fertilizer to natural organic fertilizers. Over the long-term the real costs of using organic fertilizers are far less than those provided by chemical fertilizer. With organic fertilizers, there is almost no way you can harm soil except if you apply over 100 times the recommended dosage. Over time soil and farmlands will improve with the use of organic fertilizers and yields would either maintain or increase.

Organic fertilizers use natural raw products such as fish, seaweed or even common waste to make fertilizers. Whatever is taken from the earth in terms of raw input is returned directly to the earth as the final product. There is very little waste and no imbalances in the natural ecology that occur when these fertilizers are applied. Plants and soils will greatly benefit from these fertilizers as they nourish the soil and provide vital nutrients that synthetic fertilizers have no hope in providing.

Although we are used to the idea of large corporations and industrial farms changing their practices to favor environmentally friendly practices, action from individual private citizens can also be very helpful. We can start by changing out law fertilizing habits by buying only naturally organic products and keep from overusing products in favor of conservation.

Although we have made dire mistakes in the past by neglecting the needs of our ecosystem we are by no means beyond saving ourselves. We instead need to be steadfast and look to the future. It is only through our work that our children can enjoy the 100th anniversary of Earth Day looking back saying that their parents succeeded in making a difference.