The 22nd April is Earth Day, one of the biggest events dedicated to environmental protection. Each year, events and initiatives aimed at raising awareness on environmental issues are held worldwide. Instituted by the United Nations, Earth Day serves as a reminder that we need to re-establish the original equilibrium of the planet, since this is the only one we’ve got and it is our duty to defend it.
Earth Day is celebrated on this day and marks the anniversary of the first Earth Day held on 22 April 1970 in the United States. Answering the plea of Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, millions of US citizens, various organizations that until then had waged specific battles, thousands of colleges and universities joined in a large, nationwide demonstration dedicated to the preservation of the planet.
This year’s theme for World Earth Day is “Restore Our Earth”: the theme aims to call for solutions against environmental degradation and climate change because only a healthy planet is a guarantee of livelihoods, jobs and health for mankind. Covid will certainly not stop the event. Initiatives around the world will run on both a virtual and a face-to-face basis to accommodate the different health restrictions in each country. There is even a map on the Earth Day website that geo-locates the various global initiatives, to which virtual meetings and round tables are added.
The goals of the Earth Day Network are to:
- Educate and raise awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
- Achieve major policy victories that protect and safeguard species and their habitats.
- Build a global movement that embraces nature and its values.
- Encourage individual actions.
For more information: Earth day
