Happy Earth Day! (By the time you read this, it will already have passed – if you were unaware, Earth Day was on 22 April 2022!) In celebration, I thought we’d dive deeper as to why we celebrate it!
So, what is Earth Day?
It was first celebrated in 1970 in the United States. About 20 million people protested in the streets against the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara. Since then, it has played an important role in raising awareness about environmental issues.
What is the importance of Earth Day?
Over the last decade, we have seen a spurt of climate events that had affected millions of people, from extreme heat to wildfires and floods. The UN even states: “Climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversities, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet.”
What is this year’s focus?
Earthday.org has selected the theme ‘Invest In Our Planet’. It means that it 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’.” It also warns that time is short.