“Earth Day should not be seen as a deadline but rather a spark that inspires future action.”
Earthday.org
April 22 is Earth Day, a day where people from across the world are inspired to protect the environment. The first Earth Day was celebrated on the 22nd of April 1970, and since then Earth Day has recruited more than 75,000 partners in 192 countries to the environmental movement.
Each and every one of us has the power and influence to make a positive change. And together with millions across the world we can #restoreourearth, which is this year’s Earth Day Theme. The Restore Our Earth theme has been broken into 5 pillars, which I have listed below with a little explanation of each and links so you can get involved.
“We must Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. Every one of us needs a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.”
Earthday.org
Five Pillars of Restore Our Earth
1. The Canopy Project
Donate to The Canopy Project so that Earth Day can continue planting trees across the globe. With the help of various global partners Earth Day has planted tree in areas that is in dire need of rehabilitation as well as areas that is home to the most at-risk communities which has been impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.
2. Food & Environment
One of the most powerful ways you can fight climate change is by changing your diet.
“Our food system is rapidly deteriorating the planet, and in its current form, we will not be able to feed the over 9 billion people inhabiting Earth by 2050. Our growing population is pushing food security to the edge, and what we’re eating is pushing the planet to the breaking point on climate change and deforestation.”
Earthday.org
Use a foodprint calculator to learn exactly how your diet affect the environment. Make your next meal plant-based (recipe ideas here), and who know you might be inspired to have more plant-based meals in future.
3. The Great Global Cleanup
“79% of all plastics ever produced have accumulated in the natural environment or landfills.”
Earthday.org
Global waste impacts everyone and there are multiple ways individuals can help reduce waste. You can do a cleanup on your own or as a group. Every piece of litter picked up makes a difference.
If you organise a cleanup event or attend one, don’t forget to Tag @EarthDayNetwork and use the hastag #GreatGlobalCleanup
In order to make a big impact on the global waste epidemic, each individual should look at reducing their own personal waste at home.
“Small choices, amplified enough times, have big impacts.”
Earthday.org
4. Climate Literacy
Sign the Climate and Environmental Literacy petition on Earthday.org. We need to urge our governments to provide students worldwide with climate and environmental education, so that they can make informed environmental choices. This will not only help them in the way they live but will also empower them to build a stronger sustainable economy where everyone is accountable for their actions towards the environment.
5. Global Earth Challenge
Earthday.org, together with the U.S Department of State’s Eco-Capitals Forum and The Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars have a launched the Global Earth Challenge™, a transparent citizen science database. The goal of this database is to combine data collected by individuals via a new mobile app as well as from existing citizen science projects to shed light on key environmental issues.
To become a Citizen Scientist, all you need to do it download the Global Earth Challenge™ app so you can start collecting data on bee populations, or support research on air quality, plastic pollution, food security, etc. The resulting data will be displayed on a public map and is available as open data. This data will be used by researchers and it has the power to drive change.
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