Celebrate Earth Day by investing in our planet

Since 1970 when it was first established by Senator Gaylord Nelson in the aftermath of the devastating Santa Barbara Oil Spill that killed over 10,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, and sea lions, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide each year on April 22. This year’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet.”

The global event aims to provide support for environmental protection and currently includes over one billion people from 193 countries who are involved in a variety of activities and events coordinated by EARTHDAY.ORG, an organization working to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. 

“In 2023 we must come together again in partnership for the planet. Businesses, governments, and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis and lighting the spark to accelerate change towards a green, prosperous, and equitable future. We must join together in our fight for the green revolution, and for the health of future generations. The time is now to Invest in Our Planet,” said Kathleen Rogers, the President of EARTHDAY.ORG.

According to Rogers and her colleagues, some ways of investing in our planet include:

1. Pushing for climate literacy by signing the Climate Education Coalition Letter, which urges the COP28 Presidency and the ministers of education and environment from UN member states to establish and develop educational programs focusing on the origins, progression, consequences, and solutions of the current climate crisis in order to build civic skills, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities for people aiming to safeguard our planet.
2. Helping to grow trees by getting involved in the Canopy Project, an effort to improve our shared environment by planting trees across the world and reforesting areas in urgent need of rehabilitation, which has already contributed to planting tens of millions of trees all over the globe. 
3. Supporting sustainable fashion by committing to responsible consumption and signing a petition against “fast-fashion” clothing production which contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions and the pollution of rivers, streams, and ground water with dangerous levels of pesticides and carcinogenic chemicals.
4. Ending plastic pollution by signing a petition calling for a global plastic treaty that would promote a circular economy action plan, ban single-use plastic, and prevent plastics from entering rivers, oceans, and any other ecosystems worldwide.
5. Attending a cleanup in the context of the Great Global Cleanup, a worldwide campaign aiming to rid the environment of waste and plastic pollution.
6. Voting Earth by sending a letter to local representatives asking them to invest in our planet by supporting the Earth Bill, which will help the US adhere to the Commitments of the Paris Agreement and transition to renewable energy by 2030.

More advice on how to help our planet survive and thrive can be found in the Earth Day Action Toolkit. Besides these possible actions, individuals all over the world are urged to follow 52 simple ways to invest in our planet each day of the year.

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By Andrei Ionescu, Earth.com Staff Writer

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