Earth Day
April 22nd is Earth Day - a day when people are inspired by an awareness of the over-exploitation of natural resources and the pollution of the environment, and look for solutions. Today, the pollution of the environment is something everybody is aware of
Eugen Cojocariu, 29.04.2012, 17:16
April 22nd is Earth Day – a day when people are inspired by an awareness of the over-exploitation of natural resources and the pollution of the environment, and look for solutions. Today, the pollution of the environment is something everybody is aware of.
Its effects can be seen everywhere: in the fields, which are poisoned by all sorts of chemical substances, in the deforested areas, in polluted waterways and in the reduced natural resources. In addition, there are plenty of endangered plant and animal species. With every day that goes by, man realizes that the beauty of “our blue planet” is slowly vanishing, which is one reason why more than forty years ago a green movement focusing on environment protection was founded in the US.
On April 22nd 1970, one of the first large-scale ecological movements was initiated, attended by millions of people in the US. After two decades, in 1990, more than 200 million people from 141 countries changed Earth Day into a large-scale celebration, which the UN designated as an officially recognized day in 2009. At present, Earth Day is celebrated across all continents. People in schools and offices are encouraged to recycle and undertake various actions meant to protect the environment. There are more than 4,000 partnered NGO‘s in 170 countries, organizations which campaign for a cleaner, greener and sustainable future.
In 2012,on the 42nd Earth Day, an anniversary event was held under the heading “A clean earth, a healthy life “. During the past few years, Romania has joined that movement, with groups of volunteers cleaning green spaces and planting trees and flowers. Beech, walnut and ornamental trees have been planted in Bucharest and in many other cities across the country, while various other ecological activities took place. ‘’Bucharest is biking’’ – an event now in its second edition and organized by cyclists’ associations aims to promote outdoor activities for a healthier life style and a less polluted city.
“Green Bacau “ is a project for ecological education and raising awareness of students, and of society in general, of the need to protect the environment. It is organised by the Bacau branch of the REPERE Association. On Earth Day, the pupils of Bacau, in eastern Romania, took on the role of environmental activists. They distributed leaflets and informed the population about the importance of protecting the environment. Nadia Isaila, the president of the Bacau branch of the REPERE Association, has further details about the initiative:
“The earth is a living organism, and on April 22nd people celebrate it in an event globally known as Earth Day. It was a day when people everywhere stopped their daily routine to think of their planet for a few minutes at least, a period of time during which our volunteers managed to interact with them. On the morning of April 22nd, our project for promoting and raising awareness about Earth Day started in the Rose Park in Bacau — eastern Romania. A group of 74 young pupils from 7 high schools took part, and unfolded an impressive banner which they showed off in the centre of Bacau, while distributing promotional material. The most important thing about this initiative is that they talked to people from all walks of life, with pensioners, grandparents and grandchildren and explained to them the benefits of environmental protection. People are interested, particularly in the information included in the eco-citizen guide. The children who made these materials knew how to attract people‘s attention by providing very direct information.“
Through this project students have learnt to love the earth and have understood that only through solidarity, recycling and environmental action can they contribute to the recovery of the planet. It’s interesting to see how parents and grandparents have learnt from their children what it means to be an eco-citizen, how to collect waste for recycling, and how to live in harmony with nature. Nadia Isaila:
“Glass waste disappears in 4 thousand years, plastic bags in 450 years, plastic bottles in one thousand years and tins take between 80 and 100 years to decompose. But they don’t tell us these things very often. The information is indeed worrying. The impact of these activities on children and adults alike was huge. In this way they started to think seriously about the environment. The city of Bacau is extremely polluted. The people of Bacau have grown attached to this project because they are aware that their city is indeed polluted. In Bacau people don’t drink the tap water and our dream is to have drinkable water. Water pollution is not the only problem. Air pollution is a daily problem in Bacau, as fog hovers over the city every day. Also noise pollution is an issue, because the city does not have a ring road and the airport is close by.”
Scientists warn that the environment is in serious trouble, and efforts to curb the destruction of biodiversity stand only slim chances of success. Very few of the targets assumed by world governments at environmental summits have been met. But at least there are some people that are trying to change things for the better.
