Today the whole world celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Earth Day – the largest worldwide campaign to honour the planet and commit to its protection and preservation. The day was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.
Why do we support the Earth Day Movement?
As the organization whose mission is centered around children and their wellbeing, their future is on top of our list of priorities. Maybe you never thought about this, but children have the biggest stake in environmental protection. Their survival, growth and development depend on the existence of a safe and clean environment.
If you think about the state of the world we are leaving to them, what do you think they get?
Did You Know…
that because of our mistreatment of the planet,
- the amount of carbon dioxide gas, a global warming pollutant, has risen to the highest level in at least 800,000 years?
- Monthly average Arctic sea ice extent in March was the lowest in the satellite record?
- That 2015 has seen the warmest start of the year in at least 136 years?
And if that wasn’t an eye opener, here are some more facts:
- We dump 19.4 billion pounds of plastic into ocean every year.
- 18 millions of forest are lost each year.
- Earth is facing a 40% shortfall in water supply by 2030.
- Climate change-related events (like floods for example) along with the population growth could increase hunger up to 20% by 2050. As if we don’t already struggle with the rising poverty levels in the world…
Who is the most affected by the climate change?
The most affected by climate change are not us living in the developed world. No, we don’t feel not a tiny bit of what those living in the low-income and marginalized societies face everyday. Their entire survival is dependent on the state of the planet.
For example, the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, which is known as one of the poorest places on Earth, was actually the first country in the world to declare its land uninhabitable due to sea level rise from climate change, and has asked for help in evacuating its population.
If we don’t stop our misuse of the planet, nations like Kiribati, will not be the only ones affected.
What Can We Do To Make a Change?
We can EDUCATE:
- We can teach our youngest that we are one with the nature. We face the same challenges and should be connected and united by our common goal of creating sustainable and prosperous life for all on this planet.
- We can remind everyone around us that when we lose the awareness of how important is to preserve our environment, nature sends us reminders that cost us more than we can bear.
We can ORGANIZE:
- Clean up campaigns in our neighbourhoods
- food waste reduction initiatives
- walk-to-work days
- plastic bans
- art exhibits, concerts, dance recitals honoring the nature
- tree-planting drives
- recycling drives
- and lastly – SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS: we can always spread messages of good doings of others and show the world positive examples from our own societies.
And please, don’t think that You alone cannot make a change. You can!
Your choices, no matter how insignificant they might seem, still have a great impact on the global climate change.
Imagine what happens when all our individual actions and choices get multiplied by a global chorus? We can either create a good lasting change and protect our planet or we can doom it.
What will you do?
[divider]
References:
Mashable – Earth Day Facts
