Wednesday, April 22, 2020, is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It was supposed to be the kick-off day for three-days of protests and international student climate strikes. Many of the planned activities are going online because of the global Corona virus pandemic.
A number of environmental groups and climate activists are combining calls for a national and global COVID-19 recovery plan with demands for climate justice. Ten European countries, including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, have called on the European Union to ensure that Green Deal programs are a major part of recovery proposals.
On April 22, 1970, twenty million Americans attended rallies, teach-ins, and celebrations, protesting against environmental destruction, celebrating Mother Earth, and launching the modern environmental movement. The idea for Earth Day was proposed by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson (Democrat-Wisconsin) after he witnessed the impact of a massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The first Earth Day led to passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts and legislation creating the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1990, Earth Day went global and an estimated 200 million people in almost 150 countries participated. The upsurge in involvement led to a 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
A group of Canadian 12 and 13-year-olds representing the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO) traveled to Brazil to address the Earth Summit, including. Severn Cullis-Suzuki. She told Summit attendees “I am fighting for my future” and “I am here to speak for all generations to come.” Severn challenged delegates as parents who “should be able to comfort their children by saying ‘everything's going to be alright’, ‘we're doing the best we can’ and ‘it’s not the end of the world.’ But I don't think you can say that to us anymore.”
Despite decades of mobilization and some successes, the Earth and human civilizations are in greater danger today than they were fifty years ago because of the impending climate catastrophe. As teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg pointed repeats, “Our house is on fire!”
From April 22nd through April 24th, Strike With Us “will hold a series of videos, live performances, movies, conversations, workshops, webinars and panels to provide community and continue fighting the climate crisis during this uncertain time.”
Day 1: Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22: The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is a day to demonstrate collective power and unity through community building and storytelling.
Day 2: Stop the Money Pipeline Day of Action, Thursday, April 23: Target financial institutions, politicians, and polluters across the country. Reprogram the economy so that it works for people and planet. Get a Stop the Money Pipeline toolkit.
Day 3: Day of Political Action and Voter Engagement, Friday, April 24: The focus will be on the urgency of political change through a nationwide youth voter registration day.
You can sign up to be an Earth Day Network volunteer. You receive updates on events, tips on how to live greener, and opportunities to make your voice heard.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is urging people to join a digital strike by posting a photo of themselves along with the hashtag #ClimateStrikeOnline. Author and activist Naomi Klein, climate scientist Dr. Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, head of World Health Organization climate change unit, Greek youth climate activist Ariadne Papatheodorou, and Greta Thunberg discuss the Corona virus and the climate crisis on Youtube.
Kids home from school because of the Corona virus can create Eco-Art using found materials in the house like old jewelry, bags, or plant holders. Transform trash into treasure by creating a sculpture out of recyclables. Gather some inspiration from Earth Day Network’s Artists for the Earth gallery. Another idea is to create and display your own Earth Day 2020 Poster.
A great project is to launch a Climate Emergency Campaign in you community. The Climate Emergency Campaign asks local governments to declare a climate emergency. Students can lobby school boards to mandate teaching how climate change threatens local communities and human civilization. In 2017, Hoboken, New Jersey was the first city in the United States and the third city in the world to declare a Climate Emergency. Hoboken is located on the Hudson River flood plain and suffered serious damage during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The Climate Mobilization website has a sample Climate Emergency resolution.
This summer, the in-coming freshman class at Hofstra University is reading and discussing Greta Thunberg’s No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. I review the book in a video posted on the Hofstra website.
Follow Alan Singer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReecesPieces8