Words by Smiley Team
The 50th anniversary of Earth Day was also the first to be held entirely online as a result of the pandemic.
Although the event had been planned months and months in advance, as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the world, organisers were forced to re-evaluate and then scrap the plans for a massive IRL demonstration in favour of a mass digital campaign.
Although there were concerns that the most historic and significant environmental campaigns would go unrecognised, Earth Day in fact saw millions across the globe get involved, with 24 hours of online content around the world and a 12 hour Earth Day Live video stream.
The livestream show was hosted by the actor Ed Begley Jr alongside his daughter and provided a variety of content from interviews, performances and calls to action.
The first Earth Day took place first in 1970 and attracted the support of 20 million people around the world who felt passionately about the health of the planet.
There were calls to action from a variety of world leaders. In his general audience, Pope Francis said that ‘because of our selfishness, we have failed in our responsibility to be guardians and stewards of the Earth. We have polluted and despoiled it, endangering our very lives’.
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations shared his message that ‘We Must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption’.
Every hour on Earth Day, Earth Day Network’s website and social media delivered a new call to action, with thousands of people joining in to carry out these actions which included registering to vote, trying new plant-based recipes and switching to green power.
To honour the first Earth Day which featured educational teach-ins, teachers were asked to dedicate a class to climate change or encourage students to advocate for action in their schools and colleges.
Although Earth Day is over, the mission to respond to the climate crisis is more important than ever and needs sustained action. To find out more about Earth Day’s mission and how you can support their work, visit their website.
By Ellen Jones
