Earth Day Network & Earth Day Canada

I want you to act out.

I promise you won’t get in trouble. I can also promise you won’t be the only one. In fact you will be joining hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries around the world.

I’m talking about a global movement known simply as Earth Day.

It was created in 1970 by a U.S. Senator, after he witnessed the devastation of the 1969 California oil spill. He wanted to leverage the emerging awareness of air and water pollution and combine it with the social energy created by the anti-war movement to force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.

And so on the 22nd of April, 1970, 20 million Americans participated in massive coast-to-coast rallies to bring attention to conversation and force political leaders to listen to their concerns.

And it worked.

First Earth Day NYC

The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts and eventually paved the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio.

Read more

Earth Day didn’t stay exclusively US for long. By 1990, Earth Day was a global phenomenon, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and bringing lots of attention to wide spread environmental destruction.

By Earth Day

Because Earth Day is a widespread celebration of everything eco-fabulous, I couldn’t limit this blog to profiling just one organization. One of the largest organizations that supports environmental education and the promotion of Earth Day in the US and beyond is the Earth Day Network.

Earth Day Canada is Canada’s version. Many countries have their own Earth Day web initiatives, so make sure to do an online search for resources in your country. Both the Earth Day Network and Earth Day Canada have a large list of worldwide events.

Check out this sampling of great events from across the globe (more can be found on their sites):

Africa

Kenya-Earth Day Fest where young people will get a hands-on experience with tools and strategies that reduce every day CO2 emissions; Sudan – City clean up; Cameroon – Tree planting

Asia

Philippines – Earth Day Fun Ride Bicycle event; India – environmental education, capacity building and green training workshops

Europe

Croatia – Reforestation project; Germany – Tree planting; Italy – Earth Day EcoArt with fashion shows and green foods

North America

US – Navy bases taking part in river cleanups, community expos and more. Student sustainability summit in New York, water festival in North Miami Beach, Florida, Electronics recycling in Pennsylvania; Mexico- Earth Day yoga and puppet shows and workshops; Canada – Green skate event in Cambridge Ontario, Neighbour hood clean ups nationwide

Garbage picking In IraqSouth America

Peru- children’s volunteering for the earth event; Belize – university forums about natural resources management; Jamaica – Earth Day expo focusing on coastal environments; Cayman Islands- Diving a shipwreck to learn more about marine ecosystems

For the other 364…

Both of these organizations run a number of programs that spread the Earth Day message to the other 364 days of the year. Earth Day should be about more than a once a year celebration after all! does lard go bad

Interested in calculating your environmental footprint? Make sure to check out Earth Day Canada’s EcoAction Calculator.

Challenge your friends or workplace and see who can reduce their impact the most. If you or someone you know is between the ages of 15 and 24 and interested in environmental action, you can sign up for EcoMentors and receive resources and guidance about how to effect real change in your community.

Earth Day Canada has a lot of other great programs so make sure you poke around the site to find goods on all sorts of environmental initiatives you can take part in.

South of the border, The Earth Day Network looks at greening schools and promoting environmental education with their Green Schools Campaign. Through their Global Day of Conservation they challenge community and business leaders to consider ways to accelerate the global green economy and promote the leadership of women within green business with their Women and the Green Economy initiative.

A Billion Acts of Green® has been chosen by the Earth Day Network as the theme for Earth Day 2011. They are inviting people from around the world to make a commitment to the planet and themselves by taking on simple acts that will further the goals of reducing carbon emissions, supporting sustainability and inspiring others to get in the act. It’s their goal to register one billion acts of green before the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.

At the writing of this blog, almost 80.5 million acts have been committed and range from eating more local food, using reusable bags at the store, installing a low flow toilet, planting trees and walking more and driving less plus many, many more!

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