2023-04-22 01:48:14
On April 22, International Earth Day (Earth Day) is celebrated, which aims to raise awareness throughout the world about the need to protect the environment and the conservation of biodiversity.
Its objective is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement around the world and facilitate its extension effectively to build a healthy and sustainable environment, address climate change, and protect the Earth for future generations.
In this 2023, the official motto for Earth Day is “Invest in our planet” (Invest in our Planet).
El April 22, 2023, numerous awareness initiatives will take place around the world such as conferences, planttree planting, walks and activities related to ecology. It is a day dedicated to our planet and to recognize the Earth as our home.
The origins of this commemorative day go back to 1970, when more than 20 million American citizens mobilized to raise awareness about the vulnerability of the planet. The event promoted by social organizations, and promoted by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, was baptized with the name of Earth Day and can be considered the first major environmental demonstration on the planet.
Social pressure paid off and the United States government created the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and enacted the “Clean Air Act”. Two years later, in 1972, the first international conference on the environment, the so-called “Stockholm Earth Summit”, was held to sensitize world leaders about the magnitude of environmental problems.
More than 1,000 NGOs promoted events in 140 countries
In 1990, Earth Day was organized again, this time globally and with successful participation, since more than 1,000 NGOs promoted events in 140 countries and it is estimated that around 200 million people participated.
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, which aroused great hopes and was the largest conference held to date, not only in number of participants but also in attendance by heads of government. The UN recognizes this celebration since 2009 and this 2023 has the motto “Invest in our planet”as a continuation of the successful campaign started in 2022.
The objective of this commemoration is to make the population aware of the situation that society itself has generated during the different phases of industrial and technological development; deforestation and large-scale agriculture since the last century, which have led to problems of overpopulation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, water scarcity and many other worrying environmental situations.
This day urges us to reflect on the urgency of adopting measures to manage climate change. The majority of citizens around the world are aware of the need to tackle this problem as soon as possible.
a recent ipsos study It revealed that 68% of the world’s population claims to be concerned about the effects of climate change in their country.
For its part, in Spain this percentage is 77%, which means that we are the second European country most concerned about this issue, only behind Italy (79%).
In addition, global citizens look beyond their borders and are also concerned about the situation in the rest of the planet. On average, 7 out of 10 people around the world are concerned about the impact of climate change in other countries.
With this background, it is not surprising that the consequences of climate change are also taking their toll on our mental health. And reports from the UN recently published report noted that there are cases of mental health problems as a result of extreme weather and rising temperatures. He also warned that these extreme conditions are only going to get worse.
The American Psychological Association has already produced a document about it in which he warns that trauma experts and therapists will be almost as essential as refrigeration centers and elevated homes to help people cope with a changing planet.
Some curious facts on Earth Day
- The chosen date, April 22, was conscientiously chosen by Gaylord Nelson for the first mobilization in the United States, so that as many people as possible could attend, especially young people and students, and precisely on that day the majority of North American universities start spring break.
- In some countries Mother Earth is called “pachamama”, in honor of a goddess revered by Andean indigenous peoples, who they asked for fertility for their plantations and crops.
- The surface of our planet is made up of 70% water in its different states. Almost 68% of that water corresponds to ice at the poles, which is why it is so important to fight against its melting, accelerated by climate change. The fact that it has so much water is what leads us to call Earth a “blue planet”.
We are in time to tackle climate change: “act now”
The earth is crying out to us to act, all of us, from our individual responsibility as citizens of the world, and of course the governments of the countries. There are currently viable and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, but it is necessary to implement them as soon as possible.
Scientists participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have just published a report about the urgent climate actions that can be carried out right now.
The UN has also promoted a campaign for individual action called “act now” which has its own application in which more than 11 million ideas have already been registered through the app and the chatbox to help care for our planet. .
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