On Saturday 22nd April, the World will celebrate and recognize International Earth Day. The Earth Day theme for 2017 is “Environmental & Climate Literacy” – a day they need to build a global citizenry fluent in the concepts of climate change and aware of its unprecedented threat to the planet.
Environmental and climate literacy is the engine not only for creating green voters and advancing environmental and climate laws and policies but also for accelerating green technologies and jobs.
In recent history, people around the world are hungry to engage in public policy. It is up to all of us to use this unprecedented opportunity to build the change we need.
This Earth Day, the world is launching an ambitious goal of achieving global climate and environmental literacy by Earth Day 2020.
To accomplish this, they are turning to the strategy of the first Earth Day in 1970: coordinating
teach-in around the world where citizens will gather to learn about local environmental issues and develop the civic engagement techniques necessary to take action.
On 22nd April, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.
Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders.
By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.
According to Mr. Alie Jalloh from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Agency has no plan to celebrate International Earth Day.
We need to empower everyone with the knowledge to inspire action in defense of environmental protection.
By Emmanuella kallon
Friday April 21, 2017.
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