The first Earth Day was celebrated 45 years ago on April 22nd as well, and it is considered the origin of the modern environmental movement. After witnessing the destruction caused by a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson worked tirelessly with both the U.S. Congress and everyday people to bring environmental issues to the forefront of politics. Senator Nelson managed to unite people from all levels of society, from the rich to the poor, city dwellers to farmers, and chose April 22nd to express their views to the government. His mission was a resounding success, as the government established the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and three other crucial environmental acts that regulated clean water, air and endangered species.
Since then, Earth Day has leapt onto the world stage, with over 184 countries participating in the celebrations this April. With such a global scale, the organizers had to create themes that would unite the entire world in their message. The past few years have featured slogans such as “Green Cities” and “The Face of Climate Change.” This year, the organizers have turned their focus from the present to the future with the theme “It’s Our Turn to Lead.” With this simple phrase, the torch is passed from the current generation to the next: the youth. As young people, we are the generation that must live the world that we shape today. So we face a choice: let the present situation run its course and leave our futures to chance, or rise to the occasion and lead the way to a sustainable future for both humans and the Earth.Each person will celebrate Earth Day differently, as each person faces different challenges and contexts. When I celebrated Earth Day in Canada, my school organized massive recycling projects. Students scrambled through classrooms and sorted through the trash bins, throwing the paper products into one container and plastics into another. We worked with a wild frenzy , because we were promised a bucket of candy for whoever could collect the most recyclable material. Other habits we cultivated included shutting off all lights before we left a room and not tossing trash to the ground. But Earth Day is not just limited to doing what should already be done. Caring for the environment requires knowledge as well in order to make the fullest impact. Perhaps you can read a report about how to build environmentally friendly cities that integrate nature with economic development, or take an ecology class to understand the interconnections between every organism in a certain environment. Maybe the most ambitious students could organize a symposium to showcase the environmental knowledge of his or her peers to the school. The possibilities may be endless, but only one goal should trump all else: to establish a mindset that building a sustainable future requires the contribution of all members of society, especially the young people that will inherit the Earth.
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