Earth Day turns 40

Like any other DAY celebrations, Earth day was born in the USofA. It was the brainchild of a United States Senator, Gaylord Nelson. He proposed a day dedicated to create awareness towards aspects of the Earth's environment. Although, the day was started to inspire people to appreciate the planet, we need to do a lot more than just that given the current scenario.

source: traveladventures.com

Eco and green groups are known to dedicate an entire week to environment related projects and activities starting on 16th of April each year and culminating into a grand finale on 22nd April. This kind of event was first celebrated in Philadelphia in 1970. Hence, the 40th Birthday of "Earth Day".

There is another day dedicated to the planet, and that is an initiation by the United Nations. It is the World Environment day celebrated on June 5th each year. As a rule, UN tries to observe this day in a different country each year.

As any skeptic would argue, I do not believe that doing our bit on one particular day relieves us of our 24x7 responsibility towards the planet, towards ourselves and our future generations. Being gentler on the planet, doesn't end with banning use of polythene bags or plastics. It goes a lot beyond that, it is more about making the right choices in order to keep our land, water and air fit for life to prevail.

Wishing everyone a very happy Earth Day! Let us put our heads and hearts together and realize our potential in letting this planet remain habitable. Our planet is going through a lot of troubles already, and that includes natural calamities. Let us not add to its woes with our thoughtless actions and mindless choices. All those who are too busy with their lives and don't have energy and time to think and live Green, do spare this day and maybe, it could be your first step towards contributing to a clean and green future.

Here is a brilliant video from the Greenpeace archives shared by a fellow Greenpeace activist.