Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
What is Earth Day you ask? Earth Day celebrates the birth of the modern environmental movement. The first Earth Day happened on the 22nd April in 1970 and has happened annually since them. It stemmed from a rise in environmentalism in America following the release of Silent Spring in 1962 by Rachel Carson. The book shed light on pollution and the impact of heavy industry on health, and led to a rise in public awareness and a move towards environmental activism. You can read more about the history of Earth Day here.
Earth Day is normally celebrated through activism and celebrations that bring communities together. But today, on this 50th anniversary, we are all stuck at home.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to still celebrate the day, from the comfort of your couch!
Watch Virtual Events
We Dont Have Time has curated an incredible week-long program of speakers for Earth Day covering topics such as finance, the circular economy, education, food and local government. Check out the program here: https://www.wedonthavetime.org/event/earthdayweek
Earth Day Live promises to be an exciting digital event featuring discussions on climate action around the world with an impressive speaker list, such as Al Gore, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pope Francis, Elizabeth Warren, Jason Mraz, and more. You can register for free here: earthday.org/earth-day-live
For the creative community, the PangeaSeed Foundation is hosting a virtual arts festival that brings together the global community to celebrate with artists painting environmentally inspired murals in their homes. The program includes live talks from participating artists, climate action, and a Stay-at-Home House Party. Check out the program here: https://seawalls.org/activation/home/#schedule
The Earth Optimism conference is showcasing stories of both small and large-scale actions, framing the conversation and demonstrating that success is possible. https://earthoptimism.si.edu/
Finally, there is also EarthX running, in partnership with National Geographic, which will focus on energy, law, cities, technology, capital, women in the environment, the future and more. https://earthx.org/conference/
Share the Message
Hold a digital screening for friends, family, and/or colleagues! We are doing this at my office this evening for the new documentary, the Story of Plastic. There are so many environmental documentaries you can watch but some classic ideas are Virunga, Before the Flood, Years of Living Dangerously, Tomorrow, Our Planet, The Human Element, Racing Extinction, Food Inc., The Lorax, and No Impact Man. You can also tune in to the One Earth film festival and catch some new movies there.
Being at home is a great chance to educate your family and children. NASA has developed some great resources for this Earth Day to help educate children (and adults!) on climate change. https://www.nasa.gov/content/earth-day-2020-50th-anniversary-toolkit
Focus on Your Individual Footprint
Switch to a bank that isn’t investing in fossil fuels – https://www.earthdayswitch.org/
Switch to a renewable energy provider – https://bigcleanswitch.org/
Go meatless for the day (need cooking inspiration? check out some ideas here)
Take the 22-day Earth Day challenge and commit to taking 22 actions for climate action – https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-challenge/
Climate Four 
Amazing post!! 🌎🌎
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