In January 1969, a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California triggered collective outrage and then, thanks to the efforts of Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, Earth Day came into being in 1970. It inspired over 20 million Americans to demonstrate against the environmental impacts of around 150 years of industrial development and today World Earth Day is a global movement. This year, it will bring together around 1 billion people in more than 193 countries and among them will be groups and individuals fighting for the planet and campaigning against polluting practices and the dumping of oil spills, plastic, raw sewage and pesticides in our oceans.
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The day also raises awareness about deforestation, biodiversity loss and endangered wildlife at a time when Earth has experienced its second warmest March on record with the Antarctic sea ice shrinking to its second-lowest extent according to Copernicus, EU’s climate monitoring agency. Last month at the three-day water summit in New York, António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, also drew attention to the disturbing fact that humanity has broken the water cycle, destroyed many ecosystems and contaminated groundwater.
It is logical then that the official theme for World Earth Day this year is ‘Invest In Our Planet’ and Pradip Shah, co-founder and director of social enterprise Grow-Trees.com says it couldn’t be more timely. He says, “Global warming is exacerbating at an unprecedented rate and the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has warned of ‘irreversible impacts’ if the temperatures breach the limit of 1.5°C. The UN Secretary-General has also stated categorically that the ‘climate time bomb is ticking’ and unless we collectively commit ourselves to reaching the net zero emission rate by early 2040, the planet will face an unprecedented crisis.”
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In his opinion, greenhouse gas emissions cannot be minimised without collaborative commitment by individuals, governments and businesses and on its part, Grow-Trees.com is doing its bit to invest in the planet, address climate change and build natural wealth. Says Pradip Shah, “Grow-Trees.com’s ‘Greet with Trees® ’ initiative gives people all over the world an opportunity to plant trees for wildlife and biodiversity while supporting rural communities through employment generation and NTFPs. For Earth Day this year, we hope to inspire people to consider planting trees as an investment that will not only secure their health and well-being but also leave a lasting legacy for future generations and build natural wealth.”
In January this year, Earth.Org cited air and water pollution, food and water shortage, waste management and biodiversity loss as the five biggest environmental issues facing India and Pradip Shah says, “We cannot repair the environment or achieve our climate goals without forest restoration. India has committed to creating a carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030, and it is important that we work towards this. Trees are a powerful barrier against climate change. They not only sequester carbon, but also raise water tables, expand green cover and nurture biodiversity. We can no longer postpone climate action and at an individual level, can just begin by planting or donating a tree.”
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