22 April — Earth Day 2009 GLOBE's 14th Birthday!
K Jaroensutasinee
Earth Day, 22 April 2009, is an opportunity for all of us to step
outside to appreciate our beautiful planet, to engage in meaningful
activity to improve our local environment, and to create a new vision
for a more sustainable world. Millions of people all over the Earth
participate in Earth Day to increase understanding of local
environmental issues, to actively engage in benefitting the
environment, and to commit to practicing sound environmental
engagement throughout the year to come. Earth Day is not only an
opportunity to reflect on the amazing beauty and complexity of our
planet, it is also a call to action. Celebrating Earth Day helps focus
attention on what we can do, on this day and every day, to nurture,
care and protect the Earth as we would a dear friend.
This year the Earth Day Network (EDN), founded by the organizers of
the first Earth Day in 1970 and active in 174 countries, will launch
the Green Generation Campaign. The core principles of this campaign
are to develop and expand the use of renewable energy, to enlist
individual pledge to reducing energy consumption, and to create jobs
through energy-efficient development. Visit the EDN Partner Pages to
connect to environmental projects around the world. Visit the Green
Generation Campaign Web page to find an Earth Day event near you.
Earth Day Ideas and Activities
Earth Day is a day dedicated to environmental activism and community
participation. GLOBE has put together a list of ideas that are
educational and compatible with this year's call to action:
*Start a "Walking School Bus"! It's the bus powered by dozens of small
feet, and its the greenest, healthiest way to get children to school.
As the name "Walking School Bus" implies, it's a group of children
walking together to school along a pre-arranged route with a
timetable, collecting more and more children along the way. One adult
at the front of the bus and one at the rear ensure that the group in
between remains intact. In many communities where cars rule, it has
become a wonderful alternative to the morning commute.
*Pick up trash. This is an easy event that is good for the environment
and educational too. Discuss the many ways in which trash harms the
environment, how long certain material takes to biodegrade, and the
importance of recycling and composting.
*Plant a tree or some flower seeds. Turn it into a learning activity
about the Carbon Cycle. Talk about the value of native plants and
indigenous species.
*Make observations, ask questions and gather data to conduct a GLOBE
research project. You can pick a topic of interest in your country or
neighborhood to test, like water or air quality. Then go to the GLOBE
database, enter your data, and look up the test results posted by
students in similar locations around the world. Formulate a research
project based on what you have learned. Afterward, organize a group of
people to clean up the area that you tested.
*How about a fundraiser to raise the means to create a weather
station? Reach out to your local community members such as
grandparents and other family members, local business people and
scientists, and invite them to become involved. Let them know about
the research you are doing with GLOBE and tell them about the Student
Research Campaign on Climate. Your event can be social, with music and
food, and as well as educational, with discussion of possible research
ideas for the GLOBE climate campaign. You can apply donations toward
your GLOBE program needs, help make your school greener, use them for
energy saving light bulbs, cleaner water, etc. And if your community
does not need this kind of assistance, then find one that does! Help
those who can't afford to purchase new technology find a way to "go
green".
There are so many ways that we can help the environment while learning
more about it, and these are a few ideas to help get you started. As
always, please send information about your Earth Day event to us at
communi...@globe.gov. We would love to hear about what you did to
celebrate Earth Day. Send photos too! If we receive enough of them, we
will put up a page on our Web site to share your events for all to
see.