In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the City of Half Moon Bay launched an Earth Year campaign! Our campaign featured monthly themes, challenges, events, and online resources that encouraged the community to build up their sustainability toolbox throughout the year. Join us in celebrating Earth Day every day and show us how you’re honoring our Earth by sharing your pictures and tagging us on social media with #EarthYearHMB!

Sometimes sustainability can seem like an abstract concept and it's hard to feel like your actions are making a dent. Every step you take, no matter how small, make a difference. We like the phrase: Think Global, Act Local to set a new mindset and guide you through making decisions that are good for both our community and the planet. 

Here are some ideas on how you can apply this philosophy to the choices you make:

Buy Local

The holiday season is a great opportunity to act locally by buying from the great farmers, shops and other services we have available right in our backyard. We are proud to have such great options here in Half Moon Bay! 

Take a walk or bike ride downtown to shop locally when buying gifts or go grocery shopping. Not only are you saving on shipping costs or gas and reducing your carbon footprint, you're also supporting your neighbors and community!

Reduce and Reuse

Don't create unnecessary waste. Can you bring your reusable water bottle instead of buying a plastic one? Can you bring your groceries in your cart to your car to use your reusable bag? Reducing and reusing items is much better for the environment than throwing something away or even recycling/composting. Multiply your impact by encouraging your family, friends, restaurants, stores, and services to choose less packaging and reuse whenever possible! 

Clean Up Litter

Litter, whether on the beach or on the street, will eventually make it's way into our waterways. This can contaminate our water supply and harm to wildlife and the environment. Looking for a way to get involved? Pacific Beach Coalition has safety tips and can help you find buckets, gloves and pickers through their Streets to Beach Campaign. 

EARTH YEAR THEMES

We've released all of our past pages from the archives so you can access them or share them with anyone you think might want to learn more. Thank you for making  Earth Day into Earth Year!