My son has recently become a mini-environmentalist as he has been learning all about the rainforests and how much of our beautiful planet is in peril. Having become a junior member of the WWF he has been keeping me up-to-date with various events and campaigns they are working on. Coming up this month is Earth Hour and next month there is another campaign called Earth Day.
Earth Hour is a set time and day when we should turn out all the lights. It stems from a world-wide grass-roots movement for the planet organized by the WWF and it started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to encompass more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide and more environmental issues. The one hour event is hugely symbolic and very striking in its effect despite it being a relatively simple and straightforward thing to do. It is also now a symbol to attract attention to all sorts of other environmental causes. Everyone is encouraged to participate – from individuals to big businesses. Here in the UK we consume three times our fair share of the planet’s natural resources and we all need to cut down! One hour is all it takes to show our commitment to this marvellous and precious planet of ours so please turn off all your non-essential lights for Earth Hour 2014 on Saturday, March 29th, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. Thank you!
Earth Day is very different. This too is an environmental campaign but one that started in the USA way back in 1970. Now it is the day when environmental activists the world over use to highlight their campaigns. There is an Earth Day network of charities, activists, NGOs and campaigners and they have used previous years to highlight global warming, clean water, endangered species and clean air projects. Many of these have been very successful resulting in international legislation such as the Kyoto Agreement.
As part of its mission to protect natural lands and preserve the environment for all people, the Earth Day Network has been working on the Canopy Project. Rather than focusing on large scale forestry, the Canopy Project plants trees that help communities – especially the world’s impoverished communities – sustain themselves and their local economies. Trees reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide food, energy and income, helping communities to achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Trees also filter the air and help stave off the effects of climate change.
In Africa the scheme has seen large scale tree planting in Uganda around three high-poverty districts in central Uganda, they planted 350,000 trees to provide local farmers with food, fuel, fencing, and soil stability. EDN’s Canopy Project made a commitment to the Global Poverty Project to plant 10 million trees over the next five years in the world’s most vulnerable communities. This includes almost half a million trees now being planted in places like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Cameroon.
So now is the time to switch off and sign up – support your planet!
Posted by Ruth
