(by Learn for Pleasure on 22th April 2020)
Earth Day – this image of our planet Earth from space is the original Blue Marble photograph. This iconic photograph was taken by the crew of Apollo 17 on 7th December 1972. To them it had the size and appearance of a glass marble, which prompted the name. Apollo 17 was the last lunar mission with a crew so there have been no human take images of the whole earth since that time. NASA have released a number of blue marble images since then, but they have been taken from un-crewed vehicles, such as satellites. The Blue Marble 2012 image is a composite image taken in this way. The Blue Marble is used as the basis of the unofficial image of Earth Day flag.
Earth Day is 50 Years Old
The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and took place primarily in the United States by 20 million people which was 10% of the population. It is now celebrated in 192 countries by more than a billion people. It is co-ordinated by the Earth Day Network whose stated mission is “To build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet” and to “diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide”.
The Earth Day 2020 theme is “Climate Action”.
“Every year the Earth Day Network, as organizers of the original Earth Day, selects an environmental priority to engage the global public.
The enormous challenges – but also the vast opportunities – of acting on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary year. At the end of 2020, nations will be expected to increase their national commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, so the time is now for citizens to call for greater global ambition to tackle our climate crisis.
Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable. Unless every country in the world steps up – and steps up with urgency and ambition – we are consigning current and future generations to a dangerous future.
Earth Day 2020 will be far more than a day. It must be a historic moment when citizens of the world rise up in a united call for the creativity, innovation, ambition, and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future” – Earth Day Network.
We can all play our part in tackling climate change. As the “think globally, act locally” philosophy informs us – every small positive change that we make makes a difference for the environment as a whole. We are all interconnected and we all can make a difference.
Take a look at our environmental studies courses to see where your next green step might take you:
- Environmental Management
- Bird Life
- Introduction to Fossils and the Application of Palaeontology
- Environmental Geology
- Introduction to Environmental Sustainability
- Business and Environmental Sustainability