Earth Day 2020 is bringing together some serious heavy hitters to show support via digital means for the event’s half century mark, including – not surprisingly – Prince Albert II of Monaco.
This year’s Earth Day celebration on 22^nd April will be marked with a collection of videos put out by celebrities, politicians, personalities, environmentalists and even royals. Monaco’s HSH Prince Albert II, well-known as a staunch protector of the environment, will be airing his own message in defence of the planet this week along with the likes of Zac Efron, Al Gore, John Kerry, Kyra Sedgwick and Anil Kapoor, amongst many others.
The makers of these videos will provide live messages, talks, teach-ins and performances during a 15-hour period on the Earth Day Network at www.earthday.org and on Twitter (#EarthDay2020) as part of the celebrations. Starting at 12pm CET, an incredible line-up of personages will present personal videos for the public to watch throughout the day.
“This unprecedented time has stopped us all in our tracks,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “As each of us ensures that those around us are safe and well, it is in a momentous opportunity to examine our individual and collective relationship with the natural world and how our activities impact the planet. The way forward is hopeful, and we have an opportunity to forever change how we interact with the environment in our own backyard and our community at large.”
Earth Day 2020’s goal is to trigger interest in individuals to help the planet in responsible ways. This is especially important during our current time of crisis, where we have seen scientific proof that making small adjustments to daily life have shown huge rewards to the environment. Air pollution levels have improved in some of the world’s worst polluted places such New Delhi, which has seen an incredible 71% drop in air pollution since lockdown.
These extraordinary improvements are heartening for many, but as yet, no one is looking beyond lockdown to keep up the good work or to create long-term solutions to stop the return of old ways.
As such, individuals are being asked to participate in the Earth Challenge 2020. This “global citizen science initiative” aims to build a fully accessible database on air quality and plastic pollution using a mobile phone app found on both the App Store and Google Play. Data collection widgets will be rolled out throughout the year, and the data collected will assist in promoting better policies the world over.
“Despite that amazing success and decades of environmental progress, we find ourselves facing an even more dire, almost existential, set of global environmental challenges, from loss of biodiversity to climate change to plastic pollution, that call for action at all levels of government,” said Denis Hayes, the organiser of the first Earth Day in 1970 and Earth Day Network’s Board Chair Emeritus.
“Progress has slowed, climate change impacts grow, and our adversaries have become better financed,” said Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers. “We find ourselves today in a world facing global threats that demand a unified global response. For Earth Day 2020, we will build a new generation of environmentalist activists, engaging millions of people worldwide.
Earth Day is observed in 190 countries with nearly a billion people taking part in activities each year, making it the largest civil observance in the world.
 
Photo: Pixabay