It’s World Earth Day!

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Environmental and climate literacy”.

Now you’ re probably asking yourself what is World Earth Day and why do we need a date to celebrate the earth?

Earth day is more than just a single day, it is more than just a day of recognition, it is bigger than attending a rally it is about you and me coming together for the single cause of protecting the earth. We require the earth more than it requires us so why destroy it ? …… Better yet why let others destroy it?

Earth day is about appreciation, taking time to acknowledge and appreciate all our resources, it is about awareness, educating the public on environmental issues and solutions, it is about taking a stance- demanding better practices from companies and governments, demanding safer foods for our welfare, demanding clean water for all species, demanding resource equality and promoting sustainable development. Most of all it is platform for us ( you and me ) to lift environmental issues to the global stage.

Education is the backbone of progress and it is important that a global citizenry is created, who will be fluent in the concepts of climate change and aware of its unparalleled threat to our home, our planet. We need to fuel our brothers and sisters with the knowledge to inspire action against environmental degradation.

The theme for this year’s earth day is “Environmental and Climate Literacy”. Education is the engine for promoting awareness, for advancing environmental laws and policies, for encouraging green voters, for creating green jobs and technologies and for bringing about overall change. Let us be part of a universal campaign aimed at educating people about anthropogenic climate change and factors responsible for it. Let’s start now! Let’s not stop! Let’s be the change we want to see!

Earth day is celebrated on the 22^nd of April worldwide, originally founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental sit in. This date was chosen to maximize participation on college campuses as he determined that the week of April 19-25^th was best as there were no exams, no spring break, no religious holidays and was late in spring for favourable weather conditions.

The first earth day celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, approximately ten thousand primary and secondary schools and hundreds of communities in the United States bringing out roughly 20 million Americans for peaceful demonstrations in favour of environmental reform.

Denis Hayes founded the non-profit Earth Day Network and took the celebrations international in 1990 organising events in 141 nations. Presently it is the largest secular holiday in the world celebrated by more than 1 billion people every year. Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action to change human behaviour and provoke policy changes.

Symbols used by people to describe Earth Day include: an image or drawing of planet earth; a tree, a flower or leaves depicting growth; or the recycling symbol. Colours used for Earth Day include natural colours such as green, brown or blue. John McConnell designed an earth flag which is described as a flag for all people featuring a two-sided dye printed image of the earth from space on a dark blue field, made from recyclable, weather-resistant polyester.

Here are some tips to help you celebrate earth day on April 22^nd and every other day of the year.

 

• Recycle
• Walk to work/cycle/take public transport
• Go paperless
• Plant a tree
• Grow your own fruit and herb garden
• Buy local produce
• Take a tote bag to the shop
• Switch to e-bills
• Go and enjoy nature (go on a hike)
• Go meat or diary free for a weak
• Take some time to work with local school on green projects
• Take initiative to make sure that your work place is environmentally friendly
• Volunteer your time to help an environmental organisation
• Write your counsellor about environmental issues in your community
• Use a reusable coffee cup

 

We need the earth more than it needs us! Everyday should day be considered earth day!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” –  Margaret Mead