This April 22, we celebrate yet another Earth Day to remember the beginning of the modern environmental movement. But what exactly is Earth Day, and what are its goals?
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is a world event celebrated on April 22 every year. This is to commemorate the birth of the modern environmental movement as we know it. This day of celebration includes diverse and simultaneous events across the world in coordination with EarthDay.org, or what was formerly known as Earth Day Network. Earth Day’s vision is to encourage transformational change to demand accountability from sectors causing the current environmental crisis.
Earth Day emphasizes your power as an individual to influence policies as a consumer and member of society. Ultimately, its goal is to create a movement that is ‘inclusive, impactful, and impossible to ignore.’
How did Earth Day become a significant world event?
The roots of Earth Day can be traced back to the 1969 UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. During the conference, peace activist John McConnell pitched the idea of having a day to honor the Earth and peace. The following year, on March 21, 1970, the world celebrated its first Earth Day, which also happened to be the first day of spring. Back then, this event focused mainly on the United States. In fact, it was not until 1990 that the original national coordinator took the event to international platforms and found ground in 141 countries.
Ultimately, the Earth Day movement owes its popularity in the global spotlight to the New York Times 1962 bestseller Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This book shed light and raised public awareness of many environmental concerns and the need for a sustainable future.
What important milestones have Earth Day achieved so far?
The Earth Day organization considers each of its successes a hard-fought battle. Since its first formal celebration in 1970, the global event has been a venue for many important milestones in environmental protection.
In 2010, Earth Day launched ‘A Billion Acts of Green’ or pledges to protect the environment. And in 2012, the organization announced its collection during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This proved that an environmental cause could mobilize people to take action and influence world leaders in policy-making.
Earth Day has also facilitated the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. Furthermore, it ushered in the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the mandate to protect the people and the environment through the enforcement of environmental regulations. Many countries then adopted the same law, making the event a significant venue for environmental movements.
In fact, it was during Earth Day 2016 that over 120 member countries of the United Nations signed the Paris Agreement, the landmark international treaty on climate change mitigation. Furthermore, during the event’s 50th anniversary in 2020, over a million people joined the celebration, which became ‘the largest online mass mobilization in history.’
What is the theme for Earth Day 2022?
Earth Day’s theme for 2022 is ‘Invest in Our Planet.’ It is a call for partnerships to team up for the planet. Furthermore, Earth Day emphasizes the need for everybody’s participation, from ordinary citizens to governments and businesses. In other words, it is a challenge for everybody to take ‘unstoppable courage’ and use this moment to change the way we act on environmental issues. Simply, this year’s theme calls for sectors to invest in and support programs that preserve our health, families, and livelihoods.
What is the goal for Earth Day 2022?
Earth Day 2022 highlights conservation and restoration. In line with this, the organization is again teaming up with the Canopy Project, its partner since 2010, to plant more trees. This is true, especially in areas most at risk of environmental degradation and climate change. Together with the Canopy Project, the Earth Day organization conducts tree planting activities in the wake of environmental disasters. This is part of the organization’s broad reforestation program in all continents, save Antarctica.
Another highlight for Earth Day 2022 is the fifth installment of the Exponential Climate Action Summit. This gathering will “explore the role of nature” to help us reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is in addition to the current campaign on reducing our fossil fuel dependency and shifting to renewable energy sources. Furthermore, this summit will discuss the efforts needed to protect, manage, and restore nature to limit global warming and build community resilience.
Lastly, the net-zero summit is also a rally for nature-based solutions to cutting greenhouse gases to meet a third of the target reduction by 2030, based on the Paris Agreement.
See more ways you can participate in activities for the Earth
Earth Hour 2022: Why It Matters And Why Join?
What can you do to celebrate Earth Day 2022?
The Earth Day organization has released several tool kits for this year’s celebration on their website to give you ideas on how you can participate.
- The Earth Day 2022 Action Tool Kit includes a briefer on how individuals, governments, and businesses can invest in the planet. It also includes a set of pre-made social media guides for dissemination to encourage climate literacy.
- The Great Global Cleanup Toolkit also includes a briefer to encourage cleanup drives. All of which are in partnership with the organization’s World Cleanup Day. This will also provide events their needed platform and boost worldwide. Lastly, it also includes a checklist for participating organizations.
- The Plastic Pollution Primer and Action Toolkit are also available on the website. It comes complete with an introduction to the plastic pollution problem and how it affects public health. Also in the toolkit are links to helpful articles and videos. Lastly, it also has links to organizations working to address the plastic pollution crisis.
Also included on the website are the following references:
- Climate Literacy Action Toolkit
- Fashion for the Earth Toolkit
- Teach-In Toolkit
- Climate Civics Toolkit
- Bee Conservation Toolkit
Now, you have a background of the history of Earth Day and why it matters. That said, it is time to take your participation to another level. Even the simple effort of sharing an article or video could already go a long way. We are in this together in our collective effort to create a more climate literate world.
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