Russ Zimmer

@RussZimmer

Saturday was Earth Day. Watch the video above to see our beautiful planet from space.

New Jersey has much to do to repair and safeguard our land and water.

It's not all bad news. We highlight a success story at the end.

On a single day of the year we celebrate the only planet that is known to support life. The air, water and land that sustains us probably deserves a bit more attention than that, don't you think?

Saturday was Earth Day, a time to cleanup your little corner of the world and to consider how we can better safeguard the planet for future generations.

New Jersey has made incredible progress in the arena of environmental protection. Gone are the days when illegal dumping of toxic waste was its own industry and when medical waste and trash lined the beaches of the Shore.

But much work remains, especially in these four areas:

1. Dirty air

The Shore has an unacceptable number of high ozone days in the summer. Ozone, or smog as it is better known, exacerbates respiratory issues and has been linked to heart disease and lower birth weights.

Lots of vehicle traffic to and from the beach is a primary contributor, as are out-of-state coal-fired power plants in upwind states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Here's our top 10 single sources of locally-generated air pollution:

2. Smog in the ocean

On Saturday, thousands of New Jerseyans took to their local beach where they participated in the semi-annual beautifying effort known as Beach Sweeps, organized by Clean Ocean Action.

Four out of every five pieces of litter and debris picked up will be plastic based.

Experts say millions of tons of plastic are added to the Earth's oceans every year. From microbeads in facial cleansers to the soda bottle in your hand, this trash never biodegrades, practically speaking. It only accumulates, riding currents and floating at or just below the surface, like a curtain of smog.

Sea life consumes the plastic as it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. Scientists are exploring the effect that plastic is having on the ocean's food chain, which includes humans at the top, but they argue it would be foolish to think people would be immune.

"The idea that we can somehow separate ourselves from what's happening in the environment and think that it's not coming back to bite us in our butts is an illusion," said Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York in Fredonia and expert on plastic pollution. "If it's in the water, it's in us."

Here's a quick summary of the problem:

3. Addressing a legacy of contamination

There are a 114 Superfund sites — land that needs to be cleansed of toxic contamination before it can be used again — in New Jersey, more than any other state. Fourteen of those locations are in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

For a sense of how outsize the need for Superfund is in New Jersey, consider that California has the second-most sites (98) but has 19 times more land area.

President Donald Trump's budget proposes a cut of $330 million out of the $1.1 billion program.

New EPA administrator Scott Pruitt makes his first visit to a Superfund site:

4. The water we play in

Jersey Shore beaches have some of the cleanest water in the Northeast and even best Florida in terms of purity. But last summer marked the Shore's worst showing in five years — more than 1 in 25 tested water samples came back with bacteria counts that were too high for safe swimming.

The presence of enterococcus portends disease-causing viruses that can cause diarrhea, rashes and other unpleasant reactions if contracted by humans.

The Navesink River has its own issues with high levels of bacteria. In fact, many New Jersey waterways are dealing with this issue, which is caused by overdevelopment and leaky sanitary sewer pipes or septic tanks.

Here are the Shore's five dirtiest beaches:

Bonus: A success story

Commercial whaling has been effectively banned for more than 30 years. As a result, whale sightings off the New Jersey coast are increasing.

Humpbacks have been following bait fish into the Hudson River and within eyesight of the Statue of Liberty. FYI: Peak whale watching season already has begun.

Love whales? Watch the APP's 10-minute documentary on these Jersey giants:

ENVIRONMENT: All of the APP's coverage of the earth, air and sea

SUMMER: Seaside beaches will be open until 9 p.m. on weekends

GARDEN STATE OF MIND: A photographer finds beauty in the Meadowlands

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com