By Nathan Ham
This year will mark a special milestone for Earth Day celebrations as 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the day that celebrates and supports environmental protection.
Each year since 1970, people around the world have paused on April 22 to bring awareness to protecting the environment and plan ahead for what the future may hold.
In 1970, the first Earth Day celebration saw 20 million individuals make their voices heard calling for greater protections for the planet. The first Earth Day movement is credited by many in the United States for many landmark environmental laws that followed, including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts as well as the introduction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Now, over one billion people have rallied to support the planet each Earth Day through many events that take place worldwide.
This year, things will be a little different with all of the Earth Day events moving to digital platforms due to the COVID-19 coronavirus threat in all parts of the world. Online conversations and calls to action will take place during the 24 hours of action throughout the day on Wednesday. The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. Some of the Earth Day celebrations will include activities such as the Great Global CleanUp, Citizen Science, Advocacy, Education, and Art.
“At Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. Amid the recent outbreak, we encourage people to rise up but to do so safely and responsibly — in many cases, that means using our voices to drive action online rather than in person,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, in a statement.
If you are interested in being a part of Earth Day 2020’s digital platform, you can browse through all of the online events at earthday.org.
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