Millions of people from all around the globe are celebrating Earth Day today, April 22, to demonstrate their support for protecting the environment.
The earth day was first celebrated in 1970 in the US.
According to BBC, US senator and environmentalist Gaylord Nelson, along with Harvard University graduate Denis Hayes, came up with the idea of Earth Day to engage the public and push green issues to the national agenda.
Twenty million people across the US took part in the first Earth Day.
According to the Earthday organization, it became a global event in 1990, and now billions of people in nearly 200 countries celebrate this event.
Earth Day 2024
This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘Planet vs. Plastic,’ aiming to raise awareness about the harm of plastic pollution to planetary health and humans.
The 2024 theme comes prior to the historic UN ‘plastic’ treaty that is expected to be accepted by the end of this year.
Moreover, more than 50 counties have called for ‘an end to plastic pollution by 2024.’
However, the organizers have called for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.
Yvo de Boer, a former UN climate chief, said, “With a host of issues driving our environmental challenges down society's priority list, events like Earth Day remind us of the long-term cost of short-termism.”
