[CULTURE] Earthly Holidays

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed. 

– Mahatma Gandhi

Happy April!

I tend to have hard time transitioning from winter to spring this time around emotionally and I mostly blame the lack of vitamin D in my system due to long-lasting winters in the East Coast. In searching for a vitamin supplement brand to stick with, I ran into HUM Nutrition recently and was delighted when I received them in the mail the other day because of their minimal packaging. I already feel bad for having them shipped to me, but the experience turned out less disappointing because they came in small boxes that just fits the size of the product and came with no plastic but just minimal paper wraps to protect them. Reduce your carbon footprint by avoiding shipments as much as possible, but also beware of packaging and wastes when you receive your shipments and exercise your consumer rights and choice by choosing companies wisely and green.

April sounds earthly enough with fresh blossoms blooming. It is also the month with Earth day on April 22nd! Just like we celebrate nations' independence, mothers and fathers, Christmas, etc. the world celebrates the environment in many different ways. So here I am, highlighting some noteworthy national (USA) and global holidays.  

March 21 | World Forestry Day The United Nations (UN) designated this International Day of Forests to raise awareness of the importance of forests, which cover 1/3 of the Earth, and the need for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation.

Global deforestation is happening at an alarming rate and hugely contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. East Asia's yellow dust problem also stems from major deforestation in the region in the past two decades.

The United Nations Forum on Forests encourages communities and organizations around the world to engage in activities relating to achieving sustainable forests, including tree-planting and awareness movements.  

March 22 |  International World Water Day Also through an adopted resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, World Water Day has been observed since 1993. Even though most of us and most of you who are reading this newsletter right now have clean water to shower in and clean water to drink all easily accessible. However, billions of people today are living without safe water. You don't have to look far on the other continent or country. People in Flint, Michigan still do not have a safely managed water service. If you weren't following that story, you should here.

In 2010, the UN recognized "the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights." Given that, the proposed theme of 2019 World Water Day is 'leaving no one behind.' The theme closely speaks to UN's agenda for sustainable development goal, which aims to ensure availability of safe water for all by 2030. This is one of the illustrations done for 'Leaving no one behind' campaign. 

April 22 | Earth day  Millions of people took the streets of cities across the United States, marching and asking to increase awareness on concern for the environment. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin at the time pushed for the cause because Americans were seeing the effects of pollution on the environment and Rachel Carson's 1962 bestseller "Silent Spring" revealed the dangers of pesticides on countrysides. Ever since, countries all around the world celebrate Earth Day in forms of grassroots movements, non-profit organizations, and passing important resolutions, including Paris Agreement which was signed and passed on April 22, 2016. The theme of 2019 Earth Day is 'Protect our Species'. Due to man-made pollution, deforestation, and trafficking, living species on the lower ecological pyramids are helplessly endangered and dying. Those species include coral reefs in the deep dive oceans and larger wildlife like elephants and whales. Even if a large population of humans live in proximity to wildlife at all times, our creation of waste, use of plastic, generation of carbon dioxide DO AFFECT those species.

There are clean-up events happening around the world on Earth Day and on closer weekends. Find out about all kinds of local activities happening. You can also do many things for the environment in celebration of Earth day, such as taking bikes or walking, reducing plastic usage, reduce food waste, or participating in conservations about the environment and its sustainability. 

June 2  | World Environmental Day World Environmental Day was also designated by the UN after the first day of Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the UN's first major conference on environmental issues in 1972. World Environmental Day is meaningful in that there is a designated host country every year pushing its own initiatives. In 2018, India hosted the celebration of World Environment Day with slogan #BeatPlasticPollution. Over 6,000 people gathered at Versova Beach in Mumbai and ended up collecting over 90,000kg of plastic waste.

This year in 2019, China is hosting the celebration. The theme, therefore, is air pollution. Air pollution has been the biggest challenge met by China and its effect has been extending throughout East Asia. Not only does the air pollution contribute to global warming, but also is it a large threat to our health. Details are not available yet, but China will host the celebration on June 5 in Hangzhou and looking forward to encourage governments, industries, and communities to support strong legislations to boost air quality.

There are many more days like International Car-Free Day, World Ocean Day, World Animal Day, and..you name it! And of course, everyday can be an environmental-conscious day if you choose to. Especially during this month, however, be more conscious of your habits and consumer choices as an environmentalist. I'll come back with some achievements around the world in celebration of Earth Day 2 weeks from now!