HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!! But what exactly IS Earth Day?
Earth Day is an annual event that takes place on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network)[1] including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.[1][2] The official theme for 2022 is Invest In Our Planet.[3]
In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event "Earth Day". Denis and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. More than 20 million people poured out on the streets, and the first Earth Day remains the largest single-day protest in human history. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles. Under the leadership of labor leader Walter Reuther, for example, the United Auto Workers (UAW) was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day.[4][5][6] According to Hayes, "Without the UAW, the first Earth Day would have likely flopped!" Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in recognition of his work.[
INVEST IN OUR PLANET WITH EARTHDAY.ORG
EARTHDAY.ORG, together with their partners, is proud to present the Earth Day Climate Action Summit. Their goal is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep the global temperature below 1,5°C. Join Earthday.org to learn about some key solutions that will help us deliver the greenhouse gas reductions needed by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement.
12:00 PM EDT Environment in Time of War
- Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG
- Iryna Stavchuk, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine for European Integration, Ukraine
- Carl Bruch, Director of International Programs, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
- Stefan Smith, Senior Programme Manager, Disasters & Conflicts, UNEP
- Michael Bothe, Professor Emeritus of Public Law, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main
- José R. Allen, International Environmental Lawyer, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
01:00 PM EDT Regenerative Agriculture’s Role in Restoring Our Earth
- John Piotti, President & CEO, American Farmland Trust
- L. Hunter Lovins, President, Natural Capitalism Solutions
- Anthony Myint, Executive Director & Co-founder, Zero Foodprint
- Elizabeth Pearce, CEO, SymSoil Inc
- Merlin Yockstick, Founder, Blue Planet Science Group & RegenIOWA
This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest In Our Planet.
Because a green future is a prosperous future.
We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.
And while there is still time to solve the climate crisis, time to choose BOTH a prosperous and sustainable future, and time to restore nature and build a healthy planet for our children and their children, time is short.
The Earth Day 2022 Theme is Invest In Our Planet. What Will You Do?
TOOLKITS TO HELP WITH CHANGE
Earthday.org has a great group of tools that you can use at home and within your community.
https://www.earthday.org/our-toolkits/