Earth Day Facts: What is Earth Day

Earth Day is an initiative that was taken in 1970, in Seattle, Washington, by Senator Gaylord Nelson. Since then, this worldwide celebration targets an awareness towards every global citizen's relationship with environmentalism. All over the world, there are grass-root level demonstrations of environmental concerns and the remedial steps that have been generated around each. Issues like overpopulation, environmental pollution, forest-land encroachment, desert encroachment, depleting ozone and deforestation are taken up at online and offline rostrums.

What is Earth Day?

On the 22nd of April each year, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide, to focus on environmental issues plaguing our survival, and that of the planet. What started as an initiative to address the overpopulation issue has now snowballed into deliberation over other serious environment-threatening issues. In fact, the first proposal made by Senator Nelson in 1969 was the first ever stance at addressing the environment within the framework of national agenda.

Earth Day Facts:

• Earth Day celebrations all over the world address a number of problems that hound our survival and that of the planet. These include global warming, oil spills, increased levels of greenhouse gases, aftermath of war, biological warfare, the human hand behind extinction of animals and toxic dumps.
  
  
• The rising concern about environment degeneration has swept across the continents with an earnest intensity, integrating people and communities globally. There are teaching rostrums, forums for debates and deliberations, competitions and numerous seminars and workshops organized in different countries by different student and professional groups dedicated to the cause.
  
  
• Earth Day is a designed and much needed environmental movement that harbors and promotes the goal of a healthy and life-form sustaining environment. The rallies organized include the student, teacher, housewife, professional and retired communities across the globe. The common offline forums include school and university campuses and offices of businesses that promote researched remedies within the scope of environment science.
  
  
• Though participation is largely voluntary, every individual gets a chance to be a part of the larger picture and contribute towards the cause. Organized protests address deterioration of the environment, air pollution levels, water pollution, soil and noise pollution, raw sewage, overuse of pesticides, increased number of freeways and an irreplaceable loss of precious natural resources.
  
  
• Remedial programs such as recycling and generation of clean energy via alternative fuel resources are addressed on public platforms. Spearheaded campaigns by activists interlink in effort and vigor to assimilate the support, monetary as well as in kind, of millions of people across the world.
  
  
• Earth Day celebrations across the globe are networked to promote environmental citizenship and dedicated progressive action. The idea is to function as a driving force to steer an awareness towards the depleting environmental health and trigger subsequent change in local and national policies .
  
  
• Today, Earth Day networking integrates more than 18,000 organizations, in over 172 countries, worldwide. The groups of trained and volunteer educators help to coordinate with community development initiatives already in place. The planned environmental protection activities move beyond nationalities and physical boundaries, religion and caste and color or creed.
  
  
• The celebrations are designed to transcend differences in political opinion, to preserve geographical integrity and generate one resonating accord, in sync with technological development and the possibilities generated by the communication revolution.
  
  
• The Earth Day Flag or Ecology Flag is the creation of cartoonist Ron Cobb. The green background with a yellow theta canton, is a design that integrates the alphabets 'E' and 'O'. While 'E' stands for 'environment', 'O' represents 'Organism'. The theta represents a warning, as well as peace.
  
  
• Today, widespread environmental degradation calls for a dedicated environmental teach-in. The Earth day symbol, the Greek letter theta, represents the much needed human intervention, when dealing with environmental events and the interrelationship between man and his environ.
  
  
• Many important laws have been put in order in the wake of the efforts made via Earth Day rostrums. The Clean Air Act and the development of the Environmental Protection Agency are the offspring of the endeavor.
  
  
• There are a number of metropolitan cities around the globe that schedule an 'Earth Week' instead of just one Earth Day. The week usually begins on April 16 and ends with special Earth Day celebrations on April 22.

Earth Day 2009:

Earth Day 2009 is planned to address the execution of the following remedial steps, to promote a healthier environment:

• Unconditional environmental sustainability.
• Timely execution of pro-environment behavior.
• Increased recycling.
• Improved energy-efficiency, globally.
• Reduction in the use of disposable items.