Earth Day (April 22) started as a celebration of the world in which we all live and a commitment to protect it. An estimated 20 million people throughout the United States attended demonstrations back in 1970, and the modern environmental movement was born.

Now a global phenomenon, with hundreds of millions of people turning out for demonstrations around the world, it’s clear that protecting the Earth is something on lots of people’s minds. And that concern has only gotten more intense as the effects of global climate change continue to get worse and worse.

The effects of climate change are increasingly undeniable, as even the staunchest climate-change deniers are now starting (slowly) to creep their way toward plans to combat it. That’s a radical shift from even a few years ago.

We can’t solve climate change alone, but at Standard Solar, we do our level best each and every day to help mitigate some of its worst effects by installing carbon-free, renewable solar energy projects. As the solar industry continues to expand, we’ll be right there with it, trying to do whatever we can to make the planet inhabitable not only for us, but for our children and grandchildren and on and on.

So as you gather around to celebrate Earth Day this year, remember how far we’ve come from April 22, 1970. But don’t forget how far we still have to go.