Equinox Earth Day edit
Equinox Earth Day is a name used for an environmental observance, held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. Earth Day is intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day, which was founded by John McConnell in 1969, each year on the March equinox.
= Each year, the March 21 Earth Day marks the anniversary of the origination by John McConnell of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. But Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.
On March 21, people from member countries of the U.N. took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Mobilizing ? in 1990 Equinox Earth Day all over the world?
As the millennium approached, McConnell's followers and the U.N. ?? al over the world.
Equinox Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on ??. On March 20, 2008, in addition to the ceremony at the United Nations, ceremonies were held in New Zealand, and bells were sounded in California, Vienna, Paris, Lithuania, Tokyo and many other locations. The equinox Earth Day at the UN is organized by the Earth Society Foundation [1]
Equinox Earth Day is the only event celebrated in March simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities??. More than a ??# people participate in Equinox Earth Day campaigns every year.
History of the Equinox Earth Day edit
The equinoctial Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox (around 20 March) to mark the precise moment of mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. An equinox in astronomy is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. Although astronomically they occur at the mid-point of the seasons, in some cultures the equinoxes and solstices are considered to start or separate the seasons.
John McConnell [2] first introduced the idea of a global holiday called "Earth Day" at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. Celebrations were held in various cities including San Francisco, in Davis, California with a multi-day street party, and elsewhere. UN Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell's global initiative to celebrate this annual event, and on February 26, 1971, he signed a proclamation to that effect, saying:
May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.[3]
Secretary General Waldheim observed Equinox Earth Day with similar ceremonies on the March equinox in 1972, and the United Nations Earth Day ceremony has continued each year since on the day of the March equinox (the United Nations also works with organizers of the April 22nd global event). Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and in 1978 declared:
(Equinox)EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.
EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way – which is also the most ancient way – using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length in all parts of the Earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March Equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth as seen from space appropriate. [4]
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At the moment of the equinox, it is traditional to observe Earth Day by ringing the Japanese Peace Bell, a bell donated by Japan to the United Nations.[5] Over the years celebrations have occurred in various cities worldwide at the same time as the celebration at the UN.
The significance of the date edit
- March 21 was the birthday of ??
Criticisms of Earth Day edit
Some environmentalists have grown critical of Earth Day, particularly those in the Bright green environmentalism camp. They charge that Earth Day has come to symbolize the marginalization of environmental sustainability, and that the celebration itself has outlived its usefulness [6].
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Earth Society Foundation"
- ^ "EarthSite"
- ^ "2004 Earth Day". United Nations "Cyberschoolbus". Accessed April 25 2006.
- ^ Margaret Mead, "Earth Day," EPA Journal, March 1978.
- ^ "Japanese Peace Bell" United Nations "Cyberschoolbus". Accessed April 25 2006.
- ^ WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Make This Earth Day Your Last!
External links edit
April 22 Earth Day
- Earth Day Network - Coordinating worldwide events for Earth Day.
- Earth Day Event Calendar at the EnviroLink Network
- Celebrate Earth Day How to Celebrate Earth Day from WikiHow
- United States Earth Day - The U.S. government's Earth Day site.
- Earth Day Canada - The Canadian Official Site for Earth Day
- Keep America Beautiful - Keep America Beautiful holds Earth Day cleanup activities in communities nationwide. The organization launched the famous Crying Indian campaign on Earth Day, 1971.
- North Norfolk Coast Earth Day Event - Exhibition of environmental technologies and advice
- Earth Day at Dhammakaya Temple
- YouTube Earth Day Contest - Earth Day Video Contest on YouTube
Equinoctal Earth Day
- International Earth Day - The Official Site - Spring/Vernal Equinox
- Earth Society Foundation - Official organization arranging annual equinox Earth Day celebration at the United Nations
Category:March observances
Category:April observances
Category:Environmental awareness days
Category:History of environmentalism
Category:Secular holidays
Category:United Nations days
Category:Recurring events established in 1970
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