HAPPY EARTH DAY

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Humans with conscience and sense of responsibility around the world celebrated Earth Day; as an annual event on 22 April. Happy Earth Day was founded by people who hoped to stir activism to clean up and preserve "Blue Planet" Earth that is home to some eight (08) billion humans and assorted trillions of other living things habituating in their own circle of climate and environment being influenced by us-the humans.

In 1969 at a UNESCO conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. 

In the sea of humans there were and are few humans with conscience and sense of responsibility; so Earth Day has the roots in a 

catastrophic event that took place in 1969. A massive offshore oil spill sent millions of gallons onto the southern California coast in 1969 and a USA senator from Wisconsin, Democrat Gaylord Nelson, after touring the spill site, started a nation wide campaign of “teach-in” on the environment, similar to teach-ins being held on some college campuses at the time to oppose the war in Vietnam.

The Nelson's idea and campaign would become Earth Day. Nelson had long been concerned about the environment due to a growing concern over pollution in the 1960s, when author Rachel Carson's 1962 book “Silent Spring,” about the pesticide DDT and its damaging effects on the food chain, hit bestseller lists and raised awareness about nature's delicate balance. The ideas and books do matter in a progressing and knowledge driven nation which USA was in 1960s. 

Nelson and others, including activist Denis Hayes, worked to expand the idea beyond college campuses, with events all around the country, and came up with the Earth Day name. Happy Earth Day! April 22 is traditionally known as Earth Day, the occasion where we pause as temporary travelers on our 'blue marble' to honor and respect our precious planetary home and its immeasurable beauty, allowing for greater appreciation of this distinctive world's bounty of resources. Since the first "Happy Earth Day" in 1970; the movement has caught the attention of more than a billion people in 193 countries. Earth Day’s 2025 theme is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, calling for everyone to unite around renewable energy so we can triple clean electricity by 2030. 

“Happy Earth Day” must be an occasion to acknowledge the concerns about environmental issues and adverse effects we humans are causing to the deteriorating environment and therefore Earth Day must be celebrated to express support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts. "Happy Earth Day" is an event on 22nd April, that the humans of the world celebrate each year and communities across the globe come together to raise awareness about climate change, conservation and the urgent need for sustainable practices.

This planet Earth is one of the kind in all the known universe, our one home. Let's treat it with care. It's being exploited beyond sustainable limits, let's change that. Small steps lead to big change. Let's celebrate a thoughtful Earth Day filled with action and appreciation. May we grow greener in every way—Happy Earth Day!

UNO Proposed Actions for a healthy planet

• Save energy at home. Much of our electricity and heat are powered by coal, oil and gas. Use less energy by employng energy-efficient methods, tools and appliances.
• Change your home's source of energy and switch to renewable sources.
• Walk, bike or take public transport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and gain better health and fitness.
• Switch to an electric vehicle to reduce air pollution and cause significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
• Consider your travel and learn how to green your travel.
• Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle. Buying fewer factory products and consumer goods can also reduce our carbon footprint. 
• Eat more vegetables and learn the connections between food and climate change.
• Throw away less food. So purchase only what you need, use what you buy and compost any leftovers. Cutting food waste can reduce carbon footprint.
• Plant native species. Plants, animals and insects depend on each other. Most insects will not eat non-native plants, which means birds and other species lose a food source. Biodiversity suffers.
• Clean up your environment. Participate in local clean-ups of parks, rivers, beaches and beyond.
• Speak up. Speak up and get others to join in taking action. It's one of the quickest and most effective ways to make a difference.
• Make your money count. Everything we spend money on affects the planet. You have the power to choose which goods and services you support. To reduce your environmental impact, choose products from companies who use resources responsibly and are committed to cutting their gas emissions and waste. If you have money that is being invested for you, through a pension fund for instance, it may be supporting fossil fuels or deforestation. Making sure your savings are invested in environmentally sustainable businesses can greatly reduce your carbon footprint.

When yellow-lock'd and crystal ey'd

I dream'd green woods among;

Where tall trees wav'd from side to side,

And in their green breasts deep and wide,

I saw the building blue jay hide,

O, then the earth was young!

The winds were fresh and brave and bold,

The red sun round and strong;

No prophet voice chill, loud and cold,

Across my woodland dreamings roll'd,

'The green earth waxeth sere and old,

That once was fair and young!'

I saw in scarr'd and knotty bole,

The fresh'ning of the sap;

When timid spring gave first small dole,

Of sunbeams thro' bare boughs that stole,

I saw the bright'ning blossoms roll,

From summer's high pil'd lap.

And where an ancient oak tree lay

The forest stream across,

I mus'd above the sweet shrill spray,

I watch'd the speckl'd trout at play,

I saw the shadows dance and sway

On ripple and on moss.

I pull'd the chestnut branches low,

As o'er the stream they hung,

To see their bursting buds of snow--

I heard the sweet spring waters flow--

My heart and I we did not know

But that the earth was young!

I joy'd in solemn woods to see,

Where sudden sunbeams clung,

On open space of mossy lea,

The violet and anemone,

Wave their frail heads and beckon me--

Sure then the earth was young!

I heard the fresh wild breezes birr,

New budded boughs among,

I saw the deeper tinting stir

In the green tassels of the fir,

I heard the pheasant rise and whirr,

Above her callow young.

I saw the tall fresh ferns prest,

By scudding doe and fawn;

I say the grey dove's swelling breast,

Above the margin of her nest;

When north and south and east and west

Roll'd all the red of dawn.

At eventide at length I lay,

On grassy pillow flung;

I saw the parting bark of day,

With crimson sails and shrouds all gay,

With golden fires drift away,

The billowy clouds among.

I saw the stately planets sail

On that blue ocean wide;

I saw blown by some mystic gale,

Like silver ship in elfin tale,

That bore some damsel rare and pale,

The moon's slim crescent glide.

And ev'ry throb of spring

The rust'ling boughs among,

That filled the silver vein of brook,

That lit with bloom the mossy nook,

Cried to my boyish bosom: 'Look!

How fresh the earth and young!'

The winds were fresh, the days as clear

As crystals set in gold.

No shape, with prophet-mantle drear,

Thro' those old woods came drifting near,

To whisper in my wond'ring ear,

'The green earth waxeth old.'

We have not heard the music of the spheres,

The song of star to star, but there are sounds

More deep than human joy and human tears,

That Nature uses in her common rounds;

The fall of streams, the cry of winds that strain

The oak, the roaring of the sea’s surge, might

Of thunder breaking afar off, or rain

That falls by minutes in the summer night.

These are the voices of earth’s secret soul,

Uttering the mystery from which she came.

To him who hears them grief beyond control,

Or joy inscrutable without a name,

Wakes in his heart thoughts bedded there, impearled,

Before the birth and making of the world.