“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” -Native American Proverb
Said to be born around 4.54 billion years ago by acceleration from the solar nebula, Earth is the fifth largest planet in our solar system with a radius of 3959 miles. The third planet from the sun, Earth is known for having liquid water on its surface and is home to 8.7 million living organisms. Our world as a whole needs protection and reservation as of now. Therefore every year, April 22nd is celebrated as Earth Day for environmental protection and much more. Read along, and let’s see how a single healthy bite you take helps our planet!
51 years of weekend classes turned into global practise: Origin of Earth Day
With every passing year, human beings have learned something new. Some of them created a way to do a chore easier, while others invented technologies. Then they dig down so deep that back in the 1800s and 1900s, a novel concept, a new theory, an invention, or a discovery was there every week; perhaps- every day! These inventions/machines helped the rich start revolutions in various fields which needed pennies – yes, it kickstarted the industrial revolution. Furthermore, the emergence of capitalism, European imperialism, efforts to mine coal, and the effects of the Agricultural Revolution fuelled the industrial revolution. Each industry consisted of factories that worked 24/7 with giant machines that emitted a considerable amount of polluted air as the fuels they used were coal, gasoline, and natural gas. When fossil fuels are burned, they release nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, contributing to the formation of smog and acid rain. One of the major sources of nitrogen oxide emission is coal-fired power plants. Also, the vapours are given off when gasoline evaporates, and the substances produced when gasoline is burned (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and unburned hydrocarbons) contribute to air pollution. Burning gasoline also produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
The revolution had its impact on both humans and the environment. While the humans adapted so quickly, the Earth remained to bear all those after-effects. Why does the land seem furious? Why are the beautiful polar bears no longer recognisable? Why do the clouds seem dull and black? Why do the rains burn our bodies sometimes? Because back then, we weren’t thinking of the potential impact of burning coal and other fossil fuels to power our new equipment and machinery — we were thinking of growing as much, as fast, and as far as possible. It’s only in the 1950s that people started assessing the kind of impact that they had on the environment as a direct result of this exponential growth.
Not after so long, in January 1969, a massive oil spill happened in Santa Barbara, California. Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, who has been long concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States, wanted to infuse student anti-war protests, which was happening then with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. He announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to volunteer. They choose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the most remarkable student participation.
Realizing how effectively this weekend classes could turn into, with the motto of reaching all Americans, Hayes hired 85 staff to promote the levels and broaden the activities of classes. They named it Earth Day, and the initiative gained a lot of attention and support from the media nationwide. Inspiring 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — took all available public spaces to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development, which had left a growing legacy of severe human health impacts. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment resulting in many rallies and community protests.
Thus, the very first Earth Day achieved a rare political alignment and got support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. By the end of 1970, it led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. After two years, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, and the very next year, they passed the Endangered Species Act and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Restore Our Earth - Earth Day 2021
So far, Earth Day has engaged more than 1 billion people and has become a significant stepping stone along the pathway of engagement around the protection of the planet. Marking its 50th anniversary, the Earth Day of 2020 highlighted the theme ‘climate action’ as it was the most pressurizing topic of the time. As a pathway, the theme of 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth,’ which aims to focus on natural processes, green technologies, and anything innovative that can help restore and nourish the Earth.
Looking back, from climatic changes to coronavirus, the natural balance of the ecosystem has changed dramatically, and it’s essential to find a way to make things the way it was. It’s our need to restore the Earth, not because we care for it, but we live on this planet. A healthy planet is not a fancy concept; it is necessary to depend on the same planet for livelihood, job, health, happiness, and much more. Also, the Earth Day of 2021 has five main projects as follows:
1) The Canopy Project
EARTHDAY.ORG, a non-profit organization associated with Earth Day, has planted hundreds of thousands of trees since 2010. The Canopy project aims to plant trees worldwide with the help of global partners and ordinary people by collecting 1$ from each person to plant one tree. The organization will plant trees at-risk from the world’s climate change and environmental degradation areas. The organization also allows you to dedicate trees as a gift for someone by visiting their website and paying a dollar. Gift wisely, save the planet while you can!
2) The Great Global Clean Up
Do you believe that the tons of garbage we throw away is disposed of the way it should be? No, it is not. That is why ‘global clean-up’ has become another project of EARTHDAY.ORG. They allow you to register for a clean-up program, and you can register as an individual or a group. You can also do ‘plogging’ – pick up while jogging! The project aims to build clean communities by reducing waste at home and cleaning campaigns aforementioned and cleaning one of the most common polluted plastic waste – cigarette butts.
3) Climate Literacy
EARTHDAY.ORG believes that it is crucial to know our planet earth and climatic conditions. Therefore, they have come up with a third project, Climate literacy which compels every school globally to assess climate and environmental education. This project helps the kids have a good idea about the same and will also help them pursue a career in the same, thereby creating a green consumer market and allowing citizens to engage with their government in a meaningful way to solve climate change. The project also will enable you to sign a climate literacy petition available in more than eight languages.
4) Global Earth Challenge
This challenge helps engage millions of people while integrating billions of data points from new and ongoing citizen science projects. The project’s result is a mobile application for data collection and a platform for citizen data. The app will also help people understand environmental and human health threats in their communities. The challenge has six research areas: the commonly asked questions by people worldwide.
5) Food and Environment
Last but not least, food and environment is another project by EARTHDAY.ORG. The initiative brings to light how reduced food prints can lessen environmental impacts and even shares a report on climate change and the American diet. Furthermore, it gives you tips and tricks to shrink your food prints by trying new recipes and changing your menu. Apart from that, the 20/20 pledge is available for students, and a food print for the future toolkit is available for teachers.
Can healthy food save the planet?
It might feel a little over the top when we say this, but yes – eating healthy food will help you to save the planet by transforming eating habits, improving food production, and reducing waste. The EAT-Lancet report gives us a scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system and which actions can support and speed up. They have put forward five practical strategies for a great food transformation. They are:
1)Seek international and national commitment to shift toward healthy diets
The study says that including consuming plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains other than limiting animal source foods helps balance the ecosystem. This can be achieved by increasing the availability, accessibility, and affordability of healthy foods in the food market and providing sustainability education, food-based dietary guidelines, and using health care services to help people with customized diets.
2)Reorient agricultural priorities from producing high quantities of food to producing healthy food
Agriculture and fisheries must produce enough calories to feed a growing global population. Still, they must also produce diverse foods that nurture human health and support environmental sustainability.
3)Sustainably intensify food production to increase high-quality output
Diets are not the only thing that could save the planet. A new agricultural revolution based on sustainable intensification and system innovation can help way more than we think. This will help reduce yield gaps on croplands causing radical improvements in fertilizers and water use efficiency, and much more. Furthermore, this will enhance biodiversity making the ecosystem balanced.
Traceability in food supply chains helps you to achieve sustainable outputs in a safe and secure way and along with reducing the production and distribution of unsafe or poor-quality products, which in turn reduces the potential for product recalls.
4)Strong and coordinated governance of land and ocean
One of the major issues is that land expansion affects water resources and aquatic creatures. People often forget that marine animals do not belong in equilibrium. Even though a healthy diet consists of fisheries, higher consumption will negatively impact the ecosystem. Therefore, fish sticks have to be utilized responsibly, and global aquaculture production has to be expanded sustainably.
5)At Least halve food losses and waste, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals
Reducing food waste helps much more than a healthy diet. If a healthy diet calls for plant-based food items, lessening the food wastes helps to feed more people causing a total reduction in food production. The production side and the consumption side will stay within the safe operating space in this way. Both technological solutions applied along the food supply chain and implementation of public policies must achieve an overall 50% reduction in global food loss and wastage.
The global adoption of healthy diets from sustainable resources will help guard the balance of our ecosystem and thereby keep the liveliness of the environment. Not to forget it will improve the health of billions and the well-being of our planet.
Eat Plants. Gain Health. Save Animals. Help the Planet.
The Earth is what we all have in common; let’s decorate her with more trees, less garbage, and treat her with less greed. Happy Earth Day, my lovelies!
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