Today is Earth Day

(photos: TJBGoogins & JMBuckley - all rights reserved)

Here are a couple of articles about one of my favorite topics!

Earth Day 2011 Is Celebrated

By Mark Dunphy - Fri Apr 22, 12:17 pm

Millions of people around the world will today take place in special events commemorating the 41st annual Earth Day.

The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement.

Eco-minded celebrities have this year joined Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green Campaign, along with millions around the world, proving that people everywhere are eager to act in unity to support a sustainable future.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jewel, Ed Begley, Jr., Sienna Miller, Matthew Modine, Maria Menounos, Edward Norton and Ian Somerhalder are among the many who have “committed” more than over 100 million Acts of Green since the campaign kicked off last Earth Day during the Climate Rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC (participants included Sting, The Roots, Joss Stone, James Cameron).

“The tremendous influence of these notable activists is an inspiration and a reminder that we all have a responsibility to contribute our time, talents and voices to preserving the planet we all call home,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network.

The following celebrities have registered their Act of Green at www.billionactsofgreen.org in hopes of inspiring others to do the same:

Leonardo DiCaprio – An avid environmentalist, DiCaprio pledged $1 million to World Wildlife Fund for urgent tiger conservation. DiCaprio and the WWF teamed up to launch www.SaveTigersNow.org, where supporters can learn more about the rapidly dwindling tiger population, why tigers are important to the planet and humanity, and how to take action to prevent this species from going extinct.

Jewel - Volunteered to perform at a benefit concert for the Clearwater Project to raise funds to provide education to people in developing countries about their right to have access to clean water.

Ed Begley, Jr. –Chooses to ride a bike when weather and fitness permit and takes public transportation if available to cut down on traffic and pollution and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
Sienna Miller – Visited India as a Green ambassador for Global Cool to help raise awareness among the people of India about the harmful effects of global warming.
Matthew Modine- A well known environmental activist, Matthew has most recently designated that all the proceeds from opening weekend of the new, animated film MIA AND THE MIGOO will support Earth Day Network’s Canopy Project, which is part of the Billion Acts of Green Campaign. The movie opens in theaters on Earth Day, 4/22/11.
Maria Menounos– Her commitment to organic gardening and carrying the message forward in her book, The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life. Last year, Maria also spoke at the Earth Day Network’s Climate Rally in Washington, DC about the health and cost effectiveness of greener living through things such as home gardening.
Edward Norton – Ran the New York City Marathon with a team of Maasai warriors in support of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, raising over $1 million through his site, Crowdrise.com. Crowdrise is a place for online fundraising, event fundraising, volunteering and having the most fun in the world while doing it.
Ian Somerhalder – Created the IS Foundation to educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures – the organization recently collaborated with Conservation International to save over 300 acres of forest.
Kelly Preston – Chosen to highlight her work with The Earth Organization as her addition to the Billion Acts of Green Campaign for Earth Day 2011
Brandi Carlile – Established The Looking Out Foundation to financially support causes and organizations including many environmental groups. She pledged to continue offsetting the carbon emissions from her tour.
Leilani Munter – Pledged to “continue to adopt an acre of rainforest for every race I run, which I have been doing since 2007. Represent green companies on my race car and spread environmental awareness to the 75 million race fans in the USA.”

For more on Earth Day 2011 see earthday.org.

www.irishweatheronline.com

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Here's another article written by John Roach for

National Geographic News

and published on April 6, 2010

From not-so-humble beginnings in 1970, when 20 million participated across the U.S., Earth Day has grown into a global tradition, with a billion expected to take part in 2009. Find out when it is, how it started, how it's evolved, and what you can do.

When Is Earth Day?

Every day, the saying goes, is Earth Day. But it's popularly celebrated on April 22. Why?

One persistent rumor holds that April 22 was chosen because it's the birthday of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union.

"Lenin's goal was to destroy private property and this goal is obviously shared by environmentalists," the Capitalism Magazine Web site noted in a 2004 article perpetuating the theory.

Kathleen Rogers, president of Washington, D.C.-based Earth Day Network, which was founded by the original organizers of Earth Day, scoffs at the rumored communist connection.

She said April 22, 1970, was chosen for the first Earth Day in part because it fell on a Wednesday, the best part of the week to encourage a large turnout for the environmental rallies held across the country.

"It worked out perfectly, because everybody was at work and they all left," she said.

In fact, more than 20 million people across the U.S. are estimated to have participated in that first Earth Day.

(PICTURES: The First Earth Day--Bell-Bottoms and Gas Masks.)

Earth Day is now celebrated every year by more than a billion people in 180 nations around the world, according to Rogers.

Mad People and a Frustrated Politician

Earth Day's history is rooted in 1960s activism. The environment was in visible ruins and people were mad, according to Rogers.

"It wasn't uncommon in some cities during rush hour to be standing on a street corner and not be able to see across the street" because of pollution, she said.

Despite the anger, green issues were absent from the U.S. political agenda, which frustrated U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, whose campaigns for the environment through much of the 1960s had fallen flat.

First Earth Day "Took off Like Gangbusters"

In 1969 Nelson hit on the idea of an environmental protest modeled after anti-Vietnam War demonstrations called teach-ins.

"It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country," Nelson recounted in an essay shortly before he died in July 2005 at 89.

"The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air—and they did so with spectacular exuberance."

Nelson recruited activist Denis Hayes to organize the April 22, 1970, teach-in, which today is sometimes credited for launching the modern environmental movement.

By the end of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been born, and efforts to improve air and water quality were gaining political traction.

"It was truly amazing what happened," Rogers said. "Blocks just tumbled."

Earth Day Evolves

Amy Cassara is a senior associate at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., who analyzes global environmental trends.

She noted that, since Earth Day started, environmentalism has moved from a fringe issue to a mainstream concern. "As many as 80 percent of Americans describe themselves as environmentalists," Cassara said.

Environmental issues today, however, are less immediate than dirty air, toxic water, and a hole in the ozone layer, she added.

For example, the impacts of global climate change are largely abstract and difficult to explain "without coming off as a doomsday prognosticator," Cassara said.

"As we become more industrialized and our supply chains become less transparent, it can be more difficult to understand the environmental consequences of our actions," she noted.

Earth Day Network is pushing the Earth Day movement from single-day actions—such as park cleanups and tree-planting parties—to long-term commitments.

"Planting a tree, morally and poetically, requires taking care of it for a really long time, not just sticking it in the ground," Earth Day Network's Rogers said.

To help make the transition, the organization is aligned with a hundred thousand schools around the world, integrating projects with an environmental component into the year-round curriculum.

"They announce the results on Earth Day, so Earth Day becomes a moment in time," Rogers said.

Cassara, of the World Resources Institute, said her organization uses Earth Day to convene with leaders in the movement and assess progress in their campaigns.

"[Earth Day] doesn't raise awareness among the general public in the same way that it used to. But it still provides a benchmark for reflection among those of us in the environmental community," she said.

What to Do on Earth Day?

For those whose inner environmentalist speaks loudest on April 22, Earth Day Network's Rogers encourages them to make a public commitment to take an environmental action.

"We are headed for a billion commitments to do something green," Rogers said. "And that doesn't mean think about it—it means do something."

Commitment ideas promoted by the Earth Day Network include pledging to educate friends and family on global warming or buy green products such as energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

The commitments are part of a yearlong initiative called the Green Generation, which leads up to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.

(See pictures of quirky Earth Day stunts.)

According to Rogers, everyone is part of this generation, which marks the transition from the industrial revolution to the green revolution.

"It is also about the green generation of energy and the generation of green jobs. ... The name [Green Generation], whenever I say it to people, they have their own idea of what it means, which is exactly what we want."

So there you have it - Earth Day 2011

As for me, I will drive my old Volvo to work today (which is only 3 or 4 miles away) and I plan to generate waves of positive energy to help our planet and all living things heal and feel good today and every day - let's be good to this marvelous big blue marble we call home!!!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!