Today (April 22nd) is the 43rd Earth Day, when people across the globe put their efforts into safeguarding the future of the planet. More than 192 countries will be taking part this year to raise awareness about how to care for our world. Earth Day is an occasion celebrated across the world, particularly in schools as people realise the importance of educating children on issues affecting the planet. This year, more than one billion people will be taking part in events to mark the occasion in order to tackle climate change. Anyone visiting Google today will be made aware of the event thanks to the interactive doodle on the search engine’s homepage. The image depicts the sun and moon’s cycle through four days in four different seasons. In Copenhagen, a CO2 Green Drive Project event has been scheduled by the Danish Cultural Institute. This ongoing project is designed to promote sustainable growth and uses entire cities as a canvas. Cyclists, runners and green transport solutions like electric cars act as brushes on a city-wide canvas, with their movements marked by GPS technology to spell out tags like ‘CO2’. Over in Mexico, charitable organisation Tortugas Foundation Yepez will be hoping more volunteers join it to help clear the beaches and ensure the habitat is safe for the local sea turtle population. In Babylon, Iraq, meanwhile, research into the causes of pollution in the area is being conducted and will inform a media campaign aimed at prompting officials to take steps to reduce it. Other Earth Day events include a voluntary clean-up operation in Columbus, Ohio, and a special flash mob performance of Gangnam Style in Seoul, South Korea, which will be given a green twist. Meanwhile, in Jalandhar, India, students will be given free saplings to plant and in Argentina the Surfrider Foundation will be leading volunteers to plant trees and shrubs and clean the beaches. At the weekend, the Earth Day Festival in Santa Barbara, California took place. Along with performances from bands like the Mad Caddies and Afrolicious, there was a green car show and a chance to check out the latest developments in eco living. The 2013 Environmental Hero Award was also unveiled at the concert and this year the Community Environmental Council selected two winners. Bill Nye presents the Planet Green show Stuff Happens, which informs viewers of the environmentally-friendly choices they can make in their everyday lives. Van Jones is co-founder and president of Rebuild the Dream and Green For All, the latter of which is a group dedicated to creating green jobs in disadvantaged areas. Both men have helped raise awareness about how people can live greener lives. Earth Day first officially took place in 1970 and is based on a concept imagined by environmental activist John McConnell. He came up with the event after the horrific 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara and was inspired to educate larger groups of people on the dangers facing the planet. In order to make this year’s Earth Day more personal, organisers are asking participants to upload a photo of themselves and share how climate change has effected them and what they are doing to solve it. These images will be shown around the world today, particularly in areas where the most carbon pollution is produced. It is hoped this will inspire governments to take action and increase their fight against climate change. According to the Environment News Service, Franklin Russell, director of Earth Day at Earth Day Network, said that collecting people’s stories on climate change had been inspiring. “This interactive mosaic is depicting the very real impact that climate change is having on people’s lives and uniting Earth Day events around the world into one call for climate action,” he added. Language Insight is well aware of how small the world is, and how digital technology means we are now more connected than ever. With this realisation comes a need to prioritise taking care of the planet in order to preserve it for future generations.
