Happy Earth Day To You

With due respect to The Beatles - “You say it’s your Earth Day? Happy Earth Day to you!”

Yes, it’s Earth Day’s birthday, the forty-sixth such celebration of the world around us. The first one, which took place 1970, was marked with a rally in Chicago and several other cities. Twenty years later, in 1990, Earth Day went international, with estimates ranging from 100 million to 200 million participating across the globe.

This year, Earth Day is next Friday, April 22, with the theme, “Trees for the Earth.” According to the Earth Day Network, trees will be the first of five major goals they are undertaking in honor of the five-year countdown to its 50th anniversary. Its concept to plant 7.8 billion trees by Earth Day’s 50th in 2020 - or one tree for every person on the planet.

According to the EDN, there are three major reasons “trees” is the focal point being undertaken:

(1) Trees help combat climate change, by absorbing excess and harmful carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. In fact, in a single year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of carbon dioxide produced by driving the average car 26,000 miles.

(2) Trees help us breathe clean air, by absorbing odors and pollutant gases (such as nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.

(3) Trees help communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability and provide food, energy and income.

The planting of trees is not a novel concept. Many nations and religions celebrate foliage annually. For example, some aspect of Arbor Day is celebrated in more than 40 nations, having originated in Spain in 1594. In Florida, Arbor Day is the third Friday in January, and closely coincides with the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat, which is celebrated as an ecological awareness day. National Arbor Day is celebrated the last Friday in April, or a week after Earth Day this year.

While trees are the focus, Earth Day also recognizes environmental advances that have been made, and the past 12 months have seen some extraordinary ecological activity - most notably last December, when 196 nations signed the historic Paris Agreement, the pact that commits virtually every government across the globe to work together in an attempt to limit climate change and stem the continued rise of greenhouse gas emissions. Locally, just last month the Florida Senate’s Appropriations Committee killed a bill that would have stopped towns from banning fracking - a move celebrated by environmentalists across the state.

So, plant a tree - or two! And have a happy Earth Day all year long!