Earth Day

Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held worldwide annually. While some people celebrate Earth Day around the time of the vernal equinox, others observe the occasion on April 22 each year. Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for earth's environment. It is currently observed in more than 140 countries around the world.

What do people do

The April 22 Earth Day is usually celebrated with outdoor performances, where individuals or groups perform acts of service to earth. Typical ways of observing Earth Day include planting trees, picking up roadside trash, conducting various programs for recycling and conservation, using recyclable containers for snacks and lunches. Some people are encouraged to sign petitions to governments, calling for stronger or immediate action to stop global warming and to reverse environmental destruction.  Television stations frequently air programs dealing with environmental issues.

Public Life

Earth Day is not a public holiday and public life, with regard to transport schedules and opening hours for schools and businesses, is not affected.

Background

The April 22 Earth Day, founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson, was first organized in 1970 to promote ecology and respect for life on the planet as well as to encourage awareness of the growing problems of air, water and soil pollution.
Some people prefer to observe Earth Day around the time of the March equinox. In 1978, American anthropologist Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, founded by John McConnell. She stated that the selection of the March Equinox for Earth Day made planetary observance of a shared event possible.

Symbols

Symbols used by people to describe Earth Day include: an image or drawing of planet earth; a tree, a flower or leaves depicting growth; or the recycling symbol. Colors used for Earth Day include natural colors such as green, brown or blue.
The “Earth Flag”, which was designed by John McConnell, has been described as a “flag for all people”. It features a two-sided dye printed image of the Earth from space on a dark blue field, made from recyclable, weather-resistant polyester. Margaret Mead believed that a flag that showed the earth as seen from space was appropriate.

    "The Earth Flag is my symbol of the task before us all. Only in the last quarter of my life have we come to know what it means to be custodians of the future of the Earth - to know that unless we care, unless we check the rapacious exploitations of our Earth and protect it, we are endangering the future of our children and our children's children. We did not know this before, except in little pieces. People knew that they had to take care of their own ... but it was not until we saw the picture of the Earth, from the Moon, that we realized how small and how helpless this planet is - something that we must hold in our arms and care for."-------Margaret Mead, March 21, 1977

HOIST THE SAILS!

By John McConnell

Four billion years ago
Our lonely Earth
Set sail on cosmic seas
Guided by an unseen hand
Of nature, God or chance.

As life evolved
Through endles eco-cycles
Man was born, destined
To destroy or enrich
the Precious Ship.

And now his hand
Has seized the tiller
But his ear has not
Yet caught the Captain's
Quiet command.

The sails are down, the ship becalmed,
Its fragil life at stake.
No longer do we ride the gentle swells of
Silent seas and breathe
The fragrant air.

Broken are the rhythms
Of our cyclic plants
And other living things.

But now the Captain speaks again
Our quiet thoughts at last reveal his voice.

"Hoist the sails, Earth Man.
Set them for celestial winds.
Hold the tiler firm,
The course ahead is clear."

Be He nature, God or chance
His voice is heard
And we shall heed
The Captain's quiet command.

Women and the Green Economy

Promoting Sustainability and Solutions to Climate Change

To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE™) Campaign. Our goal is to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and generate relevant national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.

Launched at the UNFCCC 16th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico in December, 2010, the WAGE Campaign intends to create a road map for women to aggregate their power and promote their leadership in creating a sustainable green economy and mitigating climate change.


dotearth created WAGE in view of the following facts:

    * Women constitute more than half of the world’s population
    * Women make 85 percent of all consumer choices
    * Women are rising to key positions of power
    * Women can lead the way to a sustainable green economy

From U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who created a new office for women at the State Department, to Dr. Amina Benkhadra, Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, women are leading key efforts in the climate and renewable energy discussion.

Together, our most talented and successful women can fast-forward the green economy.

Already, WAGE has attracted the following women sustainability leaders to its Global Advisory Committee:

Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, President and Founder, Interfaith Power and Light

Martha Delgado Peralta, Secretary, Mexico City Ministry of the Environment

Martha Duggan, President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, United Solar Ovonic LLC

Marina Grossi, Executive President, Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development

Dr. Pamela Hartigan, Director, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford

Christine Eibs-Singer, CEO, E&Co

Jane Henley, CEO, World Green Building Council

Kristina Johnson, Former Undersecretary, U.S. Department of Energy

Donna Karan, Founder, DKNY

Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, International Finance Corporation

Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Mindy Lubber, President, CERES

Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-Director, Yale Forum on Religion & Ecology, Yale University

Daniel B. Magraw, Jr., President Emeritus, Distinguished Scholar, Center for International Environmental Law

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Ltd.

Charlotte Pera, Senior Vice President, Director of U.S. Operations, Energy Foundation

Sally Ranney, CEO, Stillwater Preservation, LLC

Stephanie, Rico, Head of External Communications and Marketing, Wells Fargo

Shannon Schuyler, U.S. Corporate Responsibility Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Dr. Lise Van Susteren, Forensic Psychiatrist and Environmental Activist

Mary Wenzel, Director of Environmental Affairs, Wells Fargo

Rebecca Wodder, President, American Rivers

Denice Zeck, Executive Director, American Forum

Jean Oelwang, CEO, Virgin Unite

Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association

Katrina Landis, CEO, BP Alternative Energy

Vanessa E-H Stewart, COO, Co-Founder, Soltage

Aimee Christensen, Founder and CEO, Christensen Global Strategies

Maria Fernanda Garza, Vicepresidente, International Chamber of Commerce, Mexico

PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Photo: Butterfly found in Malava forest

Johnstone Shisanya, the ERN co-ordinator in East Africa, has reported on the support of the Edmund Rice Justice and Advocacy group for initiatives around the issues of education, children’s rights and the environment – the three issues of particular focus for Edmund Rice international.

In the following article Andrew S. Lumati, the founder of Malava Forest Conservation Youth Group speaks about his patnership with members of the Edmund Rice East African Network in promoting environmental awareness among schoolchildren in Western Kenya.


“I founded the Malava Forest Conservation Youth Group here in a rural part of Kenya from a personal inspiration and admiration for mother nature. During my days as a volunteer with a local branch of our Kenya Red Cross, I used to walk through Malava forest to reach the Red Cross office in a town nearby. The beauty of the forest and its animals is what really captivated me. However, I was disturbed by the vast open areas within the forest that spoke of deforestation and the thought of having these animals lose their habitat really made me  think about the future of this forest.

I decided to try and create awareness about the dangers of deforestation both on the wild animals and human life in general.

The youth do hold the key to the future of any country and the world at large. I therefore decided to target them in my environmental awareness program by moving around schools within our area and establishing environmental clubs among the students. I did this with the help of some youth volunteers that I had recruited in my group.

So far, with the help of Edmund Rice Network East Africa, we have been able to engage the students in tree planting initiatives within their school compounds alongside some environmental talks that my group offers from time to time.

We hope to be planting at least 5000 tree seedlings each year both within Malava forest and the various schools that we will be engaging with. We would also like to expand our environmental education program in as many schools as possible.

Last but not least, one of our greatest wish is to partner with like-minded individuals and organizations with whom we can share ideas and other forms of empowerment so as to redeem mother nature from destruction.”