History of Earth Day: How did we get here?
The 1960s: An Era Of Demanding Peace & Protection Of Earth
It started as an alliance between the government and its citizens more than half a century ago. Newfound environmental awareness motivated a small group of public actors to protect what they love. As a result, Earth Day lives on to inspire global action and educate each generation about our interconnectedness with Mother Nature.
A Sustainable Future: Advancing Climate Action
Where do we take the cause of Earth Day next? Many die-hard climate activists say, "every day is earth day." Whether we like how they say it, it is true! We are in a position today to make a sustainable future a reality.
The spirit of Earth Day is working together as a collective to change what we can & share best climate practices.
Climate solutions and activism are more accessible today than ever before. We have the luxury to 'join' a live stream climate march from the comfort of our couch and surf the web climate news 24/7. Yet we need the energy of the grassroots communities to make change happen. We can band together to resist the takeover of Earth Day as a consumer holiday.
Beware Of Greenwashing
Ironically, on a day promoting ‘reduce, reuse and recycle,’ brands bombard consumers with Earth Day deals for products we don’t need. Many brands co-opt sustainability to sell more products. C-suite executives are aware that consumers want to support environmentally and socially responsible companies, so they apply a ‘green wash’ to their goods, hoping they will be more attractive on the shelf.
Green-wash (verb): the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
TerraChoice
Earth Day Through The Ages
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Earth Day Through The Ages 〰️
References
Earth Day History Key Events (in order of appearance)
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962. Smithsonian Institution. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.si.edu/object/silent-spring-rachel-carson-1962%3Anmah_1453548
The history of earth day. Earth Day. (2021, July 2). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.earthday.org/history/%C2%A0
Key events. MCNY. (1881, January 1). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://activistnewyork.mcny.org/exhibition/environmental-advocacy/earth-day
United Nations. (n.d.). United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 June 1992. United Nations. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/rio1992
Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Kyoto protocol. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Kyoto-Protocol
United Nations. (n.d.). The Paris Agreement. United Nations. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement
Recap of 50th anniversary: Digital Earth Day connects millions in global calls to action. Earth Day. (2020, May 7). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://www.earthday.org/50th-anniversary-recap-digital-earth-day-global-calls-to-action/