Earth day is an annual event that celebrated every year on 22 April to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The mission to celebrate the earth day is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Earthday.org is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.
History
The first earth day was celebrated on 22 April 1970 as the earmark of the birth of the modern environmental movement. American Senator Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, had started the effort as he was concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. Then he and many others witnessed the ravages of massive oil spill in Santa Barbara of California in 1969. Inspired by the student’s anti-war movement, senator nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student’s anti-war protest with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution and he announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media and persuaded Pete McCloskey. For his idea, senator recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and to scale the idea to a broader public, and they choose April 22, a week day falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation.
Hayes, bult a national staff of 85 to promote event across the land and effort soon broadened to include a wide range of organizations, faith groups and others. Then they changed the Name of movement to Earth Day, which immediately sparked national media attention and caught on across the globe. This incident of Erath Day inspired 20 million Americans. Then the people raised their voice in streets, parks and auditorium to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts.
Groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plans, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and extinction of wildlife united on Earth Day round these shared common values.
Success stories of Earth Day 2024
Due to voice raised by people through the Earth Day as environmental movement, White House was bound to introduced several environmental Laws such as Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Superfund, Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act and Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Formation of National Environmental Protection Agency. Through the Earth Day, the movement reached at global level during 1990s when Earth Summit was held in Rio De Jenerio in Brazil. Since then, world Earth Day is making changes for every kind of life with the conservation and protection of the Environment and Planet.
Theme
The theme for Earth Day 2024 is Planet vs Plastic and to mark that, earthday.org has called for a 60% global reduction in plastic production by 2040.
Earlier the theme for earth day 2023 was Invest in our Planet. This year, earthday.org has released its report Babies vs Plastic, that collated some of the latest science on the subject and highlighted that these are the children of global south who are being the most impacted by the exposure to microplastics.
How to Celebrate Earth Day
Earth Day is an opportunity to come together as a global community and celebrate our planet while taking meaningful action towards environmental conservation. There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day, from participating in community clean-up events and tree planting activities to advocating for environmental policies and supporting sustainable practices. You can also celebrate Earth Day by reducing your carbon footprint, conserving water, and supporting renewable energy initiatives. Connecting with nature through outdoor activities like hiking, gardening, or simply enjoying the beauty of the natural world is another great way to celebrate Earth Day. By educating ourselves and others about environmental issues and making conscious choices in our daily lives, we can all contribute to a healthier planet and a brighter future for generations to come.