Earth Day 2020

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, when millions of people around the world are expected to mobilise to protect the planet.Earth Day was first launched in 1970, when millions of people in America took to the streets to protest for environmental reform. The brainchild of US Senator Gaylord Nelson, it was founded in the aftermath of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California and led to the creation of landmark environmental laws and the Environmental Protection Agency. Soon after the first Earth Day, the US passed the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

First launched as a way to teach  environmentalism and protest against the negative aspects of industrialisation, and set against the backdrop of rising public concern about the environment, Earth Day soon grew to become a global environmental movement. More than a billion people worldwide now take part in marches, petitions and clean-ups to protect the environment - making it the largest civic observance in the world. People all around the world are encouraged to do things to benefit the environment, from recycling and planting trees to reducing our carbon footprints. Now more than ever, Earth Day offers an opportunity for us all to reflect upon our relationship with the planet, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for pretty much every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been so important.

Typically, Earth Day is assigned a different theme or area of focus each year; this year’s theme is Climate Action. The Day aims to change our behaviours and provoke policy changes so we can protect the environment with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day. Many believe that today’s planetary ecological crisis is due first and foremost to the increasing scale of the capitalist world economy. Capitalism is a system totally reliant on the exploitation of nature, whether that be sacrificing our clean water to frack for hydrocarbons or sacrificing our children to the production line. We must develop new ideas of what a different future may look like outside the  constraints of both capital and fossil fuels in order to move forwards to a sustainable future for humanity, instead of one of catastrophe. The connection that we have to nature, plants, and the land is integral to our health and all that we are. Earth Day reminds us to take care of our planet—whether it’s cleaning up litter, planting more trees, recycling and repurposing, or going on a walk in a green space amidst the wildflowers. We need nature more than ever, as a solution, as a resource, for respite and for life on Earth.
Ironically, this year’s Earth Day is taking place during one of the most widespread and deadly pandemics the world has seen for generations, As a result, any gatherings or other in-person events have had to be canceled , and  with the majority of the globe in lockdown, 2020 will be slightly different with organisers asking people to rally online instead for the first ever Digital Earth Day. Instead of filling parks, stadiums and the streets, people are instead being encouraged to use their "voices to drive action online rather than in person" in which participants are encouraged to share the hashtags #EarthDay2020 and #EARTHRISE "in a collective call for transformative action for our planet"..— social distancing  though doesn’t mean that you can’t go outside and enjoy nature, as long as you do so responsibly! Nature is not cancelled!

The global reach of the current pandemic offers a unique perspective on the one-ness of Earth. The coronavirus is no respector of political borders, and has forced the World to 'lockdown', but there can be forgetting the fact that climate change is real. With every new crisis happening, we realize that we are pushing us and our planet one step closer to disaster. A disaster of unprecedented scale. We are depleting our natural resources, our wildlife, and forests. 2019 witnessed one of the biggest forest fires in Amazon and Australia. We lost hectares of forests and almost a billion wild animals. The situation is critical and calls for our utmost focus. Together we can reverse climate change , but only if we act now. There really is no Plan B, not yet at least. This world is all we have. Earth Day is a day to recognize the richness of our planet and, as its trustees, do everything we can to protect it.This is our only home and now is the time to act before it's too late..
Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of the "global digital mobilisations" online, and other digital events include virtual protests, social media campaigns, online teach-ins and more. Find out more at earthday.org. Today and everyday. I  will stand in solidarity with all those risking their lives to protect our planet. Happy Earth Day. Environmental justice is more urgent than  ever.

Paradise Or?

Paradise or paradise lost?
Your effort is what it will cost
To keep our precious earth clean
By living a lifestyle that's green.

We cannot go on as we are
Leaving scar after scar
Upon this beautiful planet
Which so many take for granted.

The time to take action is now
To restore what's been damaged somehow.
We stand on the brink of "too late,"
But there's still time to change our fate.

Putting people before the thirst for profit
Humanity this treasure we can all share,
Growing wilder, keep on pressing for change
Beyond poisoned life, that greets the dawn.

Earth, our dear mother, don't pollute it
Nature's gifts can still be witnessed all around,
Give thanks, do all you cant to protect her,
Currently now in perilous danger

' Our origins are of the earth. And so there is in us a deeply seated response to the natural universe which is part of our humanity.' - Rachel Carson

The “green things growing” whisper me
Of many an earth-old mystery. - –Eben Eugene Rexford

'O Spring-time sweet!

The whole Earth smiles, thy coming to greet. – Unknown

Sean Taylor - The March is on

A spoken word for world earth day ' The March is On'

In solidarity with the global climate justice movement.

https://seantaylorsongs.bandcamp.com/track/the-march-is-on