Earth Day and Earth Hour

Earth Day and Earth Hour

Part of: GS-III- Environment (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22.

Worldwide events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The theme of Earth Day 2019 is “Protect Our Species”.
It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
The idea of commemorating such a day was propounded by Gaylord Nelson, an American environmentalist and politician.
According to the United Nations, International Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance.
The Earth Day also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration (Earth Summit), 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 day provides an opportunity to raise public awareness around the world to the challenges regarding the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports.

Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
EDN main office is located in Washington DC, USA.
Recently the Earth Hour 2019 was observed on March 30 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time with the theme #Connect2Earth.

Earth Hour

The Earth Hour was observed on 28^th March, 2020.

Points to remember

Earth Hour is the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)’s annual initiative that began in 2007.
It is held every year on the last Saturday of March.
It encourages people from more than 180 countries to switch off the lights from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm as per their local time.
The idea is to refrain from the use of non-essential lighting to save energy in a symbolic call for environmental protection.
Earth Hour has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people and collective action.
Examples: It helped create a 3.5 million hectare marine-protected area in Argentina and ban all plastics in the Galapagos in 2014, plant 17 million trees in Kazakhstan, light up homes with solar power in India and the Philippines and push new legislation for the protection of seas and forests in Russia.

WWF

It is the world’s leading conservation organization and works in more than 100 countries.
It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland
Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.
WWF collaborates at every level with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live.

Source: TH

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