Earth911 is honoring the 52 years of Earth Day with 52 Actions for the Earth. Each week through Earth Day 2023, we will share an action you can take to invest in the Earth and make your own life more sustainable. As we approach the end of this year-long exercise, it’s time to start looking forward to the next Earth Day. This week, you can make your plans for Earth Day 2023.
Action: Plan for Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day began on April 22, 1970. On that day, 10% of the U.S. population took to the streets to protest environmental degradation. That protest launched the modern environmental movement. Within a year, the U.S. created the Environmental Protection Agency and passed the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later, Congress passed the Clean Water Act and a year after that, the Endangered Species Act. Over time, April 22 became well established as a day to raise environmental awareness and take environmental action in the U.S. In 1990, the organization founded by Denis Hayes launched its first global campaign.
Today, that organization is called EarthDay.org, and Earth Day has become the largest secular observance in the world, with more than 75,000 partner organizations and a billion people participating each year. From day-long educational seminars at a Brazilian university to Fridays for Future protests in Nigeria and clean-ups in Iowa, Earth Day has become a global day of action.
Earth Day Options
April 22, 2023, will mark the 53rd Earth Day. For Earth Day 2023, EarthDay.org is continuing to emphasize its Invest in Our Planet campaign. The campaign has six branches: the promotion of climate literacy; the fight against plastic pollution; the tree planting Canopy Project to fight deforestation; civic engagement; the Great Global Cleanup; and sustainable fashion. Most of these are a continuation from last year, but civic engagement is receiving new emphasis with Vote Earth and sustainable fashion has a new focus on youth involvement.
This week, learn more about EarthDay.org’s campaigns and see if any of them resonate with you. If one of them does, find a way to become more involved and a make a plan for participating in the campaign on Earth Day and over the next year.
Earth Day Action
Many of the campaigns encourage lifestyle changes or other actions you can take quietly at home on your own time. If you are looking for a way to mark the day and make it special, there are literally thousands of Earth Day events to participate in. Use EarthDay.org’s interactive map to find events near you and choose one to join. If you can’t find a suitable event to join, you can use EarthDay.org’s online resources and planning tools to create your own event. You can organize a clean-up, host a clothing swap, plan a digital event, or prepare a teach-in, online or in person. Whatever you plan, be sure to register it on EarthDay.org so that others can find and join you and so that your event can be counted.