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This is Sunday, April 22nd: Earth Day. I had cited the event in earlier posts and there have been several news items this week covering local, national, and international events. Carl Safina's BLUE Ocean Institute was offering up a "Saving the Ocean" photo contest; in Manila, Philippines, the newspaper The Inquirer held an ocean storytelling event for children; and in Ogden, Utah - as was happening across the nation - the local Nature Center opened its doors with extra events and participation from a variety of conservation groups.
“We do it to give people an opportunity to celebrate nature and the earth, conservation and the environment,” said Mary McKinley, Ogden Nature Center executive director. “We
invite other organizations to provide information about their work and
educational options for the environment and stewardship.
Now, there are cynics who might scoff at such a symbolic event like Earth Day, the same folks who wonder why Christmas cheer or Valentine's Day affection can't last all year long. Given the nature and critical importance of many of the issues that Earth Day attempts to focus attention, their skepticism has a certain degree of merit. The question is, after one brief moment of celebration, will tomorrow's hangover linger or will it fade away as we all return to our day-to-day lives?
True, there's much to be done. And much that we can do as individuals. There are the personal measures we can take, from avoiding plastic bag use to energy-efficient lighting and automobiles, to being more prudent in our seafood choices.
But there are also the big picture issues - the ones that involve international, political organizations - like protecting the Arctic regions and its resources, ocean acidification, predator conservation (sharks, tuna, wolves, and the like), promoting aquaculture, advancing the use of alternative energy, and many more. There are many important issues such as these that people delegate to other groups in the hope that they will find the solutions and issue the decisions and policies that will make it all right in the world. However, that delegating of responsibility can also be a thinly veiled abdication of our own obligations.
I would like nothing better than to prove the skeptics wrong, that Earth Day is not just a fleeting moment but one that, little by little, propels people to consider the environment and encourages them to go beyond their own personal daily efforts - as important as they are - but to voice their opinions and support of those groups who we have assigned to wrestle with the larger issues that might seem to exceed our own grasp. We must hold them responsible and accountable for their efforts and the results (or lack of results) those efforts produce.
We face big challenges ahead and we need to be sure that the diplomats, politicians, businessmen and other policy makers and decision makers who can truly change the course of this planet's future, they must know - the whole world is watching.
Source: Earth Day 2012
For ocean conservation, this is a week of remembrance, concern, commitment, and hope.
Deepwater Horizon
It was one year ago, this Wednesday, that the Gulf of Mexico was rocked by an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform which signaled the start of an agonizingly drawn out event: the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. Over the course of three months, nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil spewed into the Gulf; killing sealife, invading fragile coastal wetlands, and leaving untold quantities of oil strewned over the bottom of the seafloor. And added to that was the questionable use of massive quantities of dispersants, forming a toxic soup that removed large quantities of oil from visible sight but could very well have done lasting damage to marine ecosystems at the micro level.
One year later, we commemorate this anniversary with caution and concern - and even a measure of guarded optimism. Dr. Carl Safina, who spent a considerable amount of time in the Gulf assessing the initial damage and the potential long-term implications for both the Gulf economy and ecology, said recently, "A lot of questions remain, but where we are now is ahead of where people thought we'd be. Most people expected it would be much worse." As reported in TIME magazine, like the microbes that saved mankind from marauding Martians in The War of the Worlds, oil-eating bacteria played a similar role in the Gulf, consuming vast quantities of oil.
"Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Texas A&M University traveled to the site of the blown well and found that microbes had digested much of the oil and methane that remained in the water," said TIME reporter Bryan Walsh. "By autumn, the levels were back to normal. 'It's very surprising it happened so fast,' John Kessler, an oceanographer with Texas A&M, told me earlier this year. '"It looks like natural systems can handle an event like this somewhat on their own.'"
But not all of the oil is gone and many scientists believe it will take years to fully assess the damage. What impact the dispersed or broken-down oil and trace elements will have on the basic building blocks of the Gulf ecology - the microscopic plankton, the larval fish and other sea creatures, the plantlife, and overall water quality - may not fully present itself for years or even decades.
It may well be that, unlike other areas of the world where major oil spills have occurred, the Gulf of Mexico may have a unique resilience. But it cannot be taken for granted. We must look at the dangerous method of deepwater oil drilling as an indication of the level of our oil addiction and realize that, as with a hardened drug addict, when our addiction-fueled actions become so desperate as to threaten ourselves and the world around us, then we must realize that we are at the edge and must pull back and chart a new and smarter course.
Earth Day 2011
Two days after the Gulf Oil Spill anniversary, comes a reason to celebrate and be optimistic for our future. Earth Day is April 22 and, from its beginnings in 1970, it has grown from a perhaps Woodstock-generation celebration of the planet to a sophisticated event designed to make young and old aware of our connection with the planet and ourselves.
It has grown into a network of individuals and organizations working together, at least for a brief moment each year, to bring greater awareness to environmental issues and to get something accomplished, no matter how small or how grand in scope. And that's where the optimism comes in.
Earth Day does not sugar coat or gloss over the global issues we face just for the sake of holding hands and singing Kumbyah one day out of the year. Through the Earth Day network and website, they work towards mobilizing people, particularly children, to take action. One of its key efforts is the Billion Acts of Green whereby people commit to doing something "green" to protect the planet. One less single-use plastic bag, one less lightbulb left burning, one less tuna or swordfish consumed in a restaurant - all can have a cumulative effect.
While Earth Day is only two days away, there is still time to check out the Earth Day Network website and see what events are taking place in your area or how you can get your local school or other organizations involved through the course of the year.
The leaders of Earth Day know it's just a day. What we do the day after - whether in the Gulf of Mexico or at your local beach - that's what counts for future generations and the planet itself.
Read more about the Gulf recovery. Visit the Earth Day Network.
Developing public awareness of environmental or conservation issues can sometimes be a bit more challenging to quantify or less momentous or newsworthy than other earth-saving activities. But it often is the foundation, the one-brick-at-a-time approach, and it may take a while before you can see the entire building that has been built over time.
And while industrialized nations can be some of the guiltiest parties in crimes against nature, many developing nations need educating as well, for many of the most important marine and terrestrial ecosystems remaining on the planet are within their borders.
Each year for the past 40 years, Earth Day has been celebrated as a worldwide event whereby participants can take stock of their natural resources, learn what they can do to protect them, and contemplate how good stewardship would benefit themselves and generations to come. What Earth Day succeeds in doing in that one singular event has a rippling effect that carries on through the year.
From the Earth Day Network website, here are the Earth Day accomplishments for 2010 - an indication of the importance of those "building block" steps that go on behind the bright lights of flashier news items but can be just as important: - In just a few months, Earth Day Network logged more than 30 million environmental actions towards the goal of a Billion Acts of Green™, from large scale climate petition drives to voter registration, city-wide light-bulb change outs, and massive coral reef and beach cleanups. Our goal is to reach a Billion Acts of Green by Earth Day 2011 to demonstrate to world leaders the global commitment to environmental change leading up to the Rio + 20 Summit in 2012.
- Earth Day Network created the largest climate activist program globally, with nearly one million participants. This represents the continuation of Earth Day Network’s goal to create a new worldwide movement to resolve climate change.
- Through the Global Day of Conversation, over 400 elected officials in more than 40 countries representing tens of millions of citizens took part in active dialogues with their constituents about their efforts to create sustainable green economies and reduce their carbon footprints. Mayors are leading the fight to reduce carbon emissions and to build the green economy.
- Over one million students abroad participated in school greenings from community-wide clean ups to installing solar energy systems to creating school gardens to adopting environmental curriculum.
- Earth Day Network announced a partnership with the Avatar Home Tree Initiative to plant a million trees in 15 countries in 2010.
- In partnership with the Peace Corps, Earth Day Network worked with local volunteers to implement environmental and civic education programs, tree-plantings, village clean-ups and recycling seminars in rural areas including Ukraine, the Philippines, Georgia, Albania and Paraguay. These efforts helped build environmentalism in the most remote parts of the earth for underserved communities.
- In Kolkata, India, we watched as our plans for a small series of sponsored events evolved into a nationwide presence, 17 cities large. Earth Day Network partnered with global and local NGOs and local government officials to coordinate city and village clean-ups, environmental rallies and educational programs for underprivileged children. Earth Day Network has plans to establish an office in Kolkata.
- In China, 10 universities participated in month-long efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their communities. Students made lifestyle changes such as recycling and using public transportation to make a positive impact. Quantitative carbon reduction results will be announced in mid-May.
- In Morocco, the government announced an unprecedented National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development, the first commitment of its kind in Africa and the Arab world, which will inform new environmental laws for the country. The Kingdom of Morocco also pledged to plant a million trees in 2010.
- In Afghanistan, Earth Day Network worked with more than 40 government and village leaders across the country in environmental sustainability practices including recycling programs and the need for clean water and alternative energy.
- On April 22, the President of Mozambique led a country-wide tree-planting initiative in schools across Maputo.
- Earth Day Network greened 40 schools globally for Earth Day, launching its international green school program. From solar panels to school gardens, Earth Day Network is significantly cutting global carbon emissions.
- Earth Day Network partnered with Carbon War Room to convene 200 of the world’s most important entrepreneurs in a forum that examined groundbreaking ways to solve climate change and create a new green economy based on renewable energy. Click here for an address by Earth Day 2010 Chair, Denis Hayes.
On Earth Day 2010, the famous Christie's auction house held an event to benefit several conservation organizations - Christie's Green Auction: a bid to save the Earth. With an auction to bid on a long list of luxury items ranging from a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic to lunch with Vera Wang, the well-heeled participated (with an additional silent auction that will conclude on May 6th) in support of Oceana, Conservation International, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Central Park Conservancy.
A little too rich for your blood? Only for the celebrities and upper-crust who only care about the environment if there's an opportunity to enjoy a day of sailing with the Rockefellers as a reward?
SO . . . WHAT!
Conservation and research groups around the world struggle for every bit of funding they can get. Whether it's scrambling for pennies or going for high society gold, it all ends up in the same place, with organizations who need funding to bring about public awareness and provide critical information for policy and decision-makers. So, if you're a down-in-the-trenches, scrounging-for-what-you-can-get kind of conservationist, please don't view these types of events with disdain.
Yeah, I too couldn't afford to bid on a pair of tickets to the pit suites at the Singapore Grand Prix or a walk in Central Park with Candice Bergen. Maybe next year . . . or many years after that. But in the meantime, according to a recent press release, the auction has raised $1,387,000USD, with more to come after the silent auction concludes.
Fundraising is as challenging in many ways as the environmental issues these organizations are confronting. As long as it is well spent (and that is a critical criteria: Is the organization accomplishing anything?), then VIP events for the well-to-do are just as valid as grass root campaigns.
It's Thursday, April 22nd . . . It's Earth Day.
Now celebrating its 40th year, Earth Day 2010 is a chance for all of us to take a proactive stance in protecting our natural resources, in protecting our environment - indeed, in protecting the planet.
So, today of all days, DO SOMETHING!
- Plant a tree or purchase some CFL or LED lightbulbs.
- Go to your local shoreline and do a little beach clean up.
- Make a contribution to your favorite conservation organization.
- Check the various conservation group web sites. Many of them have a shopping list of ideas.
- See Disneynature's Oceans. In its first week, Disney will make a contribution to coral reef protectection for each ticket sold.
You'll feel good about yourself. Trust me.
Just a reminder, adding my voice to a growing chorus, that Earth Day 2010 is coming up this Thursday, April 22nd. This is a perfect opportunity to make your support of our natural resources a more visible and actionable commitment.
The Earth Day 2010 web site has plenty of suggestions. They don't all have to be monumental; incremental steps can be better than no steps at all - every little bit helps. The Earth Day organization has a pretty lofty goal set out for themselves; but whatever they accomplish, it won't be possible without your support.
"Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day."
Also, on that same day, Disney's new Disneynature division will be releasing it's latest big-screen theatrical nature film: Oceans. I had the opportunity to see some scenes from it at last year's BLUE Ocean Film Festival and it looked pretty impressive. There is a interesting web site full of promotional info and also a page for educators, providing an activity guide for young students.
An additional plus: if you see the film during its opening week, Disneynature will contribute $0.20 to the Nature Conservancy for coral reef conservation. Disney's maximum commitment is $100,000 which comes out to 500,000 ticketholders in 7 days - not likely but certainly a worthwhile effort and cause.
So there's one thing you can do on Earth Day. And skip the popcorn.
It's April 22nd, Earth Day has arrived. And while it might appear more as a public relations stunt than something more substantial, it does have value in focusing attention on important environmental and conservation issues of the day. What becomes equally, if not more, important than the event itself, is what we do the day after.
There will be various events taking place worldwide today and through the upcoming weekend. You can check out what's happening at several web sites:
Earth Day represents an opportunity for all of us to make a statement and then follow it up with sustained, proactive steps.
