Earth Day 2021- Theme, Date, and Environmental Events
Earth Day 2021 is an annual event celebrated globally to support environmental protection. The day is celebrated on 22nd April every year. Originated in 1970, the event is now coordinated and celebrated internationally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries across the globe.
Check all the latest earth day updates below.
Table of Contents
Earth Day History – Highlights of the Major Events
Earth Day was celebrated in April 1970 for the first time. It was created by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 to bring the environmental condition into the national agenda. On the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans took part in different U.S. cities.
In December 1970, Congress authorized the formation of a new federal agency (the U.S. Environmental Agency) to tackle the environmental issues.
After two years of Earth Day 1970 celebration, Congress passed the Clean Water Act.
Later on, after one year, Congress again passed the Endangered Species Act, and very soon it also passed Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws protected millions of people from diseases and also protected hundreds of species from extinction.
In 1990, the Earth Day event went global when a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes (a young activist & national coordinator) to organize another major campaign for the Earth.
In this year, almost 200 million people in 141 countries mobilized lifting the environmental issues onto the global platform; This year, President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson with the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” which is one of the prestigious honours given to civilians in the U.S. Senator Nelson got this honour for his role as Earth Day founder.
In the millennium year, Earth Day was focused on global warming and clean energy. This time, the global event was celebrated with 5000 environmental groups and hundreds of millions of people from 184 countries worldwide.
Hundreds of thousands of people were gathered for a First Amendment Rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
On Earth Day 2010, 193 countries took part in the event, engaging more than 1 billion people. Over a decade, the event came at a stage of huge environmental challenge, i.e. climate change.
To tackle this great environmental issue, Earthday.org re-established the event as a major movement for global action to protect the environment.
In the year 2020, we have celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. However, this time Earth Day entirely went digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The people were equally passionate to celebrate the global event.
Earth Day 2021 Theme
EDN (Earth Day Network) who is the organizing body for Earth Day global event has announced the theme for Earth Day 2021. The theme for the worldwide event this year is “Restore Our Earth“.
EDN has announced the theme after the consultation with the members of the world’s largest network in 192 countries. EDN announces the theme for the coming year after the Earth Day event.
All Previous Earth Day Themes
- Earth Day 2020 Theme – Climate Action.
- 2019 Theme- Protect Our Species.
- Earth Day 2018 Theme- End Plastic Pollution.
- Theme 2017 Earth day- Environmental & Climate Literacy.
- Theme 2016 Earth Day- “Trees for the Earth”
- 2015 Earth’s Theme- It’s Our Turn to Lead.
- Earth Day 2014 Theme- Green Cities
- Theme 2013 Earth Day- The Face of Climate Change.
- Earth Day 2012 Theme- Mobilize the Earth.
- 2011 Theme- Clear the Air.
- Earth Day 2010 Theme- A Billion Acts of Green.
- Earth Day 2009 Theme- How Do You Get Around.
- 2008 Theme- Trees Please
- Earth Day 2007 Theme- Be Kind to the Earth- starting from saving resources.
- 2005 Earth Theme- Healthy Environment for Children.
Earth Day 2021 All Events
We have digitally celebrated Earth Day 2020, successfully maintaining all the necessary precautions, especially social-distancing. Now, we have stepped into Earth Day 2021. Earth Day 2021 was celebrated on 22nd April 2021 (Thursday) by every individual across the world.
All Previous Updates are Below:
The annual event will be celebrated with the objective of restoration by reducing climate change. Restoration will also bring hope to minimize the impact of COVID-19.
On Earth Day, NASA finances educational/ hands-on science activities at Washington DC’s Union Station every year. However, NASA has not yet planned the activity events for Earth Day 2021.
Earth Day Network has developed a digital action plan to Restore Our Earth 2021. The digital action plan will be helpful to tackle air quality, insects’ population, plastic pollution, and other environmental issues in your area using the Earth Challenge App. To execute it, you need to download the app on your phone.
The digital action plan of EDN also includes many other plans like:
-
- Hosting environmental literacy webinars for students.
- Using school education handbooks to organize educational events, etc.
- Action plan to organize online seminars & awareness campaign for environmental issues.
- Making of video (1 minute) to support the environmental movement & share it.
- Go through environmental podcasts, movies, articles, etc., and also share the information with your friends and family members.
- Connect with local news outlets and radio channels to promote environmental awareness.
- Plantation of home garden and switch on to plant-based diet.
- Create online exhibitions and painting installations about environmental issues in your locality and their impact on climate change.
- Creation of a song based on Earth Day and our Restore Our Earth, etc.
Latest Updates of Earth Day 2021:
All the news and updates for earth day:
Update 5:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has come up with a unique way to attract people’s attention towards Earth Day 2021. Our world today is run by Social Media. Very few platforms have the kind of power that social media platforms do. Therefore, NASA has decided to leverage this opportunity.
Our Earth is a beautiful place and there are some amazing everyday moments of nature occurring around us. We are also a generation of photography lovers. So, NASA asked people to share their favorite pictures of Earth on Twitter. By using the #ConnectedByEarth people can share pictures and be a part of the Earth Day 2021 celebration.
By this activity, NASA wants to draw people’s attention to the common resources we share. It will make us realize that we might lose our beautiful Earth forever if we do not take steps today.
As a part of the Earth Day 2021 celebrations, NASA has also launched the campaign called #GrowForLaunch. It urges people to grow a garden and start their own plantations. They want to make people aware of how lucky we are to get Earth’s resources like land, water, and even Gravity. It is a marvel that Earth supports life and therefore we should make use of it.
We have a tendency to ignore those resources we share collectively on this planet. We are living life with a ‘someone else will do it’ mentality; This has harmed our Earth more than anything else. Growing your own garden is a great way to show an individual contribution to the planet. It will benefit us as we create small ecosystems of its own.
The Food Service Equipment Association (FEA) is one of the largest trade bodies of the UK. They are the representatives of the foodservice equipment industry. Leading the cause for over 80 years they have provided a powerful voice to this industry.
On Earth Day 2021, FEA is partnering with Earthday.org to host a seminar on a Net-zero carbon climate Action. This event will also be a charity event for the NGO ‘Trees for Cities’ and will create awareness about their cause. This seminar aims to bring to the forefront the need to bring positive environmental change.
Update 4:
Edison awards is a reputed award in the field of innovation. This year as part of its 34th annual awards celebration, they will host a solar-powered Earth Day event. On April 22, 2021, both virtual and offline activities will be conducted to spread awareness and educate people about Earth Day.
It will happen in the first solar-powered town of America known as Babcock Ranch. Power support will be provided by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). This event brings together people from the field of technology who show a real promise towards creating a sustainable future.
Update 3:
Greenroofs is a global news media organization in the field of the environment. It has given a call for three days of climate action during Earth Day week this year. It will begin on April 20th. The Global Youth Summit will lead this event in collaboration with some other organizations and activists. Some of the notable names among them are – My Future My Voice and OneMillionOfUs among many others.
Their goal is to create a vibrant discussion on the topic. They want to bring to the forefront, all issues concerning our Earth today. There will be speeches and debates on the issues. They will also conduct a lot of engagement on the topic from popular climate activists like Greta Thunberg and the likes.
The topics will range from what we have done till now on the topics of conservation, sustainability and climate change. It will also discuss what we can do ahead to save our planet.
Update 2:
An International Campaign is supporting making climate change education a part of the school curriculum. Environmental activists are pushing climate change education to be compulsory worldwide as part of the Paris Agreement.
The supporters like international labor unions, teachers’ unions from different countries, environmental groups, NGOs, etc. strongly believe that adding climate literacy to the school curriculum can be a key to solve the climate crisis to some extent.
In the second week of February 2021, EARTHDAY.ORG has appointed Terra Pascarosa (as the U.S. Earth Day National Campaign Director) and Raskin (as the U.S. Earth Day National Campaign Manager) to help the Earth Day 2021 event year-round.
EARTHDAY.ORG has also launched its Regenerative Agriculture Program in the first week of February 2021. This campaign will help to raise awareness of regenerative agriculture & the positive impacts of it on the environment.
Update 1:
One of the biggest attentions of Earth Day 2021 is that the Biden Administration has decided to organize a “global climate summit.” It will be a big honor for EARTHDAY.ORG. This summit will be a stepping stone to unite the world together to combat the climate crisis.
Along with the Biden administration’s climate summit, EARTHDAY.ORG will also support various events with Govts. Universities, NGOs across the world. The organization will produce a multi-hour-channel live digital event with numerous segments on Earth Day 2021 worldwide.
Workshops, round table films, special performances on climate & environmental literacy, panel discussions, reforestation efforts, clean-ups, etc., are the events going to be organized on Earth Day 2021. The participants will include world climate leaders, non-profit innovators, industry leaders, musicians, grassroots activists, thought leaders, artists, celebrities, etc.
Some of the Earth Day 2021 campaigns that will be organized by EARTHDAY.ORG in support of this year’s theme, i.e., Restore Our Earth includes,
- The Canopy Project
- Food & Environment
- The Great Global Clean-up
- Climate Literacy
- Earth Challenges
On 12th January 2021, EARTHDAY.ORG had launched the 100-day countdown to Earth Day 2021. The organization has also declared Ah Moon (singer and songwriter) as its Ambassador in Myanmar.
Last Year Earth Day Celebrations – Brief Overview
Earth Day 2020 was very important for us as it was the 50th anniversary of the global event. This year Earth Day was celebrated with the theme “Climate Action”. The event went completely digital this year due to COVID-19. It happens for the first time in the history of Earth Day since its origin.
Coronavirus forced us to maintain a distance, but it did not force us to keep our voice down. We were more connected to each other through digital media power.
On the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day event, we used digital media to celebrate the day through global conversations, calls of action, performances, video teach-ins, etc.
One of the biggest digital events was organized on Earth Day 2020. The events were “Earth Day Live” co-hosted by Ed and Hayden Begley in the United States.
It was a three-day live stream event organized on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day from 22nd April to 24th April 2020.
The Earth Day Live was streamed online to promote social distancing during COVID-19. The event featured many musical performances, conversations with climate change activists, scientists, journalists, etc.
The president of Earth Day Network “Kathleen Rogers” said that Earth Day Live was a memorial event that showcased the flexibility of the world despite facing substantial global challenges, from COVID-19 to climate change.
Earth Day 2020 not only focused on environmental issues like traditional global events; instead, it also focused on society’s ability to manage the effects of climate change, such as the COVID-19 epidemic.
Conclusion
We have completed 50 years of journey celebrating Earth Day annually on 22nd April. It is a one-day event that gives us a platform to raise our voice to spread awareness for the betterment of the environment and humanity. Mother Earth is asking for help, and we need to step forward to restore mother Earth.