Earth Day 2018 Highlights: This year’s Earth Day is dedicated to spreading awareness about plastic pollution and the need to tackle it.
On the occasion of Earth Day on Sunday, leaders across India and the world voiced solidarity over protection and preservation of the planet, with emphasis on reduction of plastic use and adopting a sustainable lifestyle. People around the globe also came together to celebrate the Earth Day. First celebrated in the United States in 1970, the idea of commemorating such a day was propounded by Gaylord Nelson, a US senator from Wisconsin. Nelson, who had been a witness to the devastation caused by an enormous oil spill in Santa Barbara, California in 1969, felt the urgency of the matter.
According to Earth Day Network, this year’s Earth Day is dedicated to spreading awareness about the pollution caused by plastic and the need to eventually end its use. The Earth Day went global by the 1990s and is now celebrated by at least 192 countries.
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In a series of tweets, Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan talked of environment conservation. In one of the tweets, he urged the people not to be selfish and save the environment.
"Don’t be selfish; what we have are all given by this nature, we are only the custodians; pass it on to the next generation. Save earth and environment; reduce waste, plastic, paper, woods. #SaveEarth #EndPlasticPollution #GreenGoodDeeds," he tweeted.
In what can be viewed as an example of how things are probably worsening not just for human beings but animals as well, a video of a little Loggerhead turtle, who pooped out plastic that it had ingested from the ocean waters, had gone viral earlier this month. Read More
Earlier this year, the Maharashtra government ordered a ban on use of plastic in the state. On March 23, the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products notification was issued to ban the manufacture, use, storage, distribution, sale, import and transportation of all kinds of plastic items. The ban covers a wide range of items like plastic bags, thermocol, disposable cups and plates, cutlery, non-woven polypropylene bags, plastic pouches and packaging.
Terrified after their children picked up empty liquor bottles and plastic waste on the Bhuigaon beach in Vasai, Ferrao and her Indian husband Lisbon took it upon them to clean the beaches in the area. It was February 2017, when the Ferraos and their two children started cleaning the beaches. The couple has never looked back since. Read More
Google on Sunday paid tribute to British primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall with a doodle on its homepage. Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots programme, Goodall has worked tirelessly on animal welfare issues as well as environmental conservation. The Google doodle also features a short video clip of Goodall narrating her experience as an anthropologist. Read More
On Monday, the Eighth Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Harmony with Nature will be held in the chamber of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The interactive dialogue will provide a platform to discuss sustainable production and consumption patterns in Harmony with Nature, as to ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
The United Nations will hold the 83rd plenary meeting on the occasion of the International Mother Earth Day and other issues on Sunday.
According to the United Nations, International Mother Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance. This Day also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.
This weekend, people around the globe are observing Earth Day, a day meant to emphasise on the need to protect the planet and preserve its environment. Several events and campaigns are being held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. All you need to know
Single-use plastics are disposed after being used once and not put to use again or recycled. These include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and food packaging material. This petroleum-based disposable plastic is not biodegradable or does not decompose, instead, it breaks down into tiny particles after years. Toxic chemicals are released in the process of breaking down and they find their way into our food and water supply. They not only affect human health but also largely harm marine life.
United Nations tells you about the least you can do to help save planet Earth.
Discovery gives you a list of plastic items that have to be given up in order to protect your environment
The grassroots movement behind the first celebration of Earth Day eventually paved the path for a series of groundbreaking Environmental laws in the US, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Inspired by US senator Gaylord Nelson's call, around 20 million Americans took to the streets on April 22, 1970, demanding action on environmental pollution.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted this morning to give a shoutout to Earth Day, asking people to come together to 'mitigate the menace of climate change' as a 'tribute to our beloved Mother Earth.'