Earth Day

The Earth (English Earth Day ) Day is celebrated every year on April 22 in over 175 countries and aims to strengthen the appreciation of the natural environment, but also to encourage people to rethink the nature of consumer behavior.

Formation

The name and the concept was first proposed by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. He should be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day was later manifested in a proclamation by UN Secretary General U Thant as a global day of action.

To draw attention to the problems of pollution, initiated at about the same time the then U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson a national environmental action named " Environmental Teach-in" or "Earth Day", which takes place every year on April 22, to stimulate people to rethink their consumption. The day is celebrated since 1970 in the U.S., where he was very popular from the beginning and held each year at thousands of universities and colleges events. On the first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million people participated in actions.

Regardless of March 21 was also celebrated in many cities, as in San Francisco and other cities in California. At this ceremony was the ringing of the - originally Japanese - World Peace Bell.

International importance

Since 1990, this secular holiday is celebrated internationally on 22 April. 200 million people in 141 countries have been achieved. This global campaign also served to prepare the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. In 2000, Earth Day was organized by Kelly Evans. He reached around 5,000 environmental organizations in 183 countries and an estimated several hundred million people. Leonardo DiCaprio was the official host for the central opening event, where 400,000 people attended. Support the action took particular by the U.S. Vice- President Al Gore.

In 2009 was declared the proposal from the Bolivian government April 22 by the General Assembly of the United Nations International Mother Earth Day. The date of creation of Earth Day is also a day of remembrance for the Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

World Conference

After the failed UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009, Bolivian President Evo Morales invited the International Day of Mother Earth in 2010, to an alternative world People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. State representatives should look for other ways together with experts and non-governmental organizations in the face of human-induced climate change. The conference, with more than 30,000 participants from more than 140 countries took place from 20 to 22 April 2010 in Cochabamba instead. The event was also government representatives from 47 countries were involved.

In his opening speech, President Morales called the capitalist system as the main cause of the imbalance on Earth, as the planet and its inhabitants would suffer from the limitless growth imperative. In 17 working groups that met in overcrowded lecture halls, was a ten-page " agreement of nations" worked out. As one of the main causes of climate change, the agricultural sector is designated to produce food for the market, but not for the diet of all people. The industrialized countries are asked to halve its CO2 emissions by 2020 and paid six percent of their annual budget in a global climate fund. Companies and governments should be able to be sued in a to be established World Climate Justice. Jointly by governments, environmental organizations and trade unions to a global referendum be organized to environmental protection. The plans should be introduced at the next UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún in 2010.

Trivia

• The singer and guitarist Devin Townsend published a song called Earth Day.
• The American singer-songwriter John Denver was released in 1990 on the album Earth Songs a song under the title Earth Day Every Day ( Celebrate ).
• Michael Jackson published his Earth Song in relation to the World Environment Day.
• The Empire State Building in New York City was illuminated on Earth Day green.
• Since 2001 is displayed on the Google home pages worldwide Earth Day a corresponding Google Doodle to draw attention to this day.