Earth Day

[Lori Anne]

Earth Day is coming up soon.  It's a special day for us to appreciate all she has given us.  How do you show your gratitude?
Here's one way:

http://heartmath.com/million_hearts/

[Lori Anne]

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Do any of you have something special planned?  My kids, at school are picking up garbage and they have been asked to bring a garbage free lunch to school.  That is not as easy as it sounds. lol
I am going to do a little something for our Mother, too.  Will share a little later.  All over Canada, US  and other parts of the World, there are huge celebrations from cleaning up the environment to energy saving ideas all kinds of great things.  And what I noticed now in reading around the internet, a lot of "Earth Day' organisations have extended their celebrations and causes to a year round thing. Good stuff!







http://ww2.earthday.net/

[Skyflower]

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It is held annually during both spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year.

The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969

[Skyflower]

Earth day has grown to humungous proportions since its inception years ago and there are many websites devoted to this cause and many suggestions of things you can do to help, on Earth day and every day!

 

http://ww2.earthday.net/

http://www.earthday.gov/athome.htm

 
Earth day Enviro link resource guide: http://earthday.envirolink.org/

The EnviroLink Network has served as the online clearinghouse for environmental information since 1991. This website compiles a comprehensive list of Earth Day events occurring in 2009, regardless of size, geographic location or organizational affiliation.

[Skyflower]

How the First Earth Day Came About
By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...."

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.



http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

[Skyflower]

EARTH DAY 2009: THE GREEN GENERATION
En Español |En Français

Submit your events!   -  Find Events   -  List All Events  -  How To Register And Find Events

Earth Day 2009, April 22, will mark the beginning of The Green Generation CampaignTM which will also be the focus of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 must be a day of action and civic participation, to defend The Green GenerationTM’s core principles:


A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.
An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.
Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.
Join The Flaming Lips, moe. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and more for Earth Day on the National Mall!

 Under the umbrella of The Green GenerationTM, thousands of events are currently being planned in schools, communities, villages, towns and cities around the world. As in 2008, on April 19th Earth Day Network will celebrate Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington, DC, plus large-scale volunteer events in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Atlanta, and DC in partnership with Green Apple Festival. We want to make Earth Day a time for meaningful change, so sign up to restore and give back to the community! And after you’re done giving back, celebrate with a free “thank you” concert for all our volunteers!

Our partners in Cleveland, Columbus, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Beijing, and Manila, among others, are planning large events where everyone can participate. Find an event or activity near you!



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Start planning your event NOW!
With Earth Day, April 22, around the corner here’s how you can get the ball rolling for your Earth Day event:


Read our new and updated Organizer’s Guide: Find great ideas for events, learn fundraising and media outreach tips and much more!
Check out Earth Day in a Box for additional resources, such as flyers and fact sheets that you can download for free and distribute at your event.
Register your event in our Global Event Registry. This will allow people in your area to find your event and attend, and it’s a great FREE source of publicity!
Check out our e-store for Earth Day 2009 merchandise. For discounted bulk rates, contact garcia@earthday.net.
Talk to us! We want to hear from you. Send us your pictures and videos! Then we’ll select the best of them and post them on our site so they can be inspiration to other Earth Day organizers.


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Earth Day on Campus
Where better to start the Green Generation than on campuses across the globe?

With Earth Day on Campus 2009, the most environmentally-aware generation will lead the way in introducing the Green Generation campaign to the world at thousands of schools across the US. In these truly exciting times, college campuses must honor their traditional role as a hot bed for political and social change. Now is your chance to join the Green Generation, and point your school, community, and country in the right direction for our collective future!



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Earth Day Network Partners with National Environmental Education Week - April 12-18, 2009
Earth Day Network is proud to partner with National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), which annually promotes understanding and protection of the natural world by actively engaging K-12th grade students and educators of all subjects in an inspired week of environmental learning and service before Earth Day. This year's EE Week theme is Be Water Wise! Registered partners will receive a certificate and have access to a wide variety of FREE environmental education resources, including a school water auditing tool, water quality monitoring resources, and water-themed lesson plans designed by Earth Day Network. Register today!



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http://www.earthday.net/earthday2009

[Skyflower]

Earth Day is coming up soon.  It's a special day for us to appreciate all she has given us.  How do you show your gratitude?

Well, Earth Day is here.

Anybody gong to do something special for the Earth today?  Something to show her how much you care?  I hope we're all not too busy for our Earth.



I am going to give my kids a garbage free lunch today-- they have to bring home recyclables, their water bottles.   And later on I will be doing an Earth centered meditation and prayer. 

[Skyflower]

And, to add to my Earth Day Prayer and meditations (Dreaming) I also made us a kitchen composter bucket.   So that will really cut our garbage output down.  Since I've started recycling more in the last few months, we're down to a little more than one garbage bag per week, for a family of three. 

 

[Skyflower]

Step lightly on her face. Every step upon her is a Ceremony.

[Skyflower]

Step lightly on her face. Every step upon her is a Ceremony.

Once again we are coming upon another Earth Day.  How are we planning to celebrate and honour our Mother?

[Skyflower]

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

The official date for Earth Day is April 22 every year. However, many events will happen the weekend before, to allow more people to attend. For more information about Earth Day ago to http://www.earthday.org/take-action

[Lori Anne]

TODAY'S THE DAY!!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!!


Dedicate a Day of Service to the Earth!

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Defenders is calling on you to use this historic milestone to renew your commitment to building a better future by pledging a Day of Service to the Earth and the amazing wildlife it sustains.

Whether you pick up trash in a local park, create a haven for wildlife by planting native shrubs in your backyard or get your friends together to restore habitat in a nearby national wildlife refuge or forest, there’s something each of us can do to walk the walk for wildlife in our own communities.

We can’t defend wildlife without you. Join Defenders in pledging a Day of Service to the Earth – then help us reach our goal of getting 40,000 people to walk the walk for wildlife on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by asking the people you care about to follow your lead!

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1739&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr004=zkxlcp29h1.app224a

[guest147]

earth fingers

[Skyflower]

Happy Earth Day Everyone!