Earth Day is a global event celebrated on April 22 by more than 1 billion people in 192 countries every year. Today, Earth Day 2019 theme is ‘Protect Our Species’.
The world is facing a mass extinction of species due to human activity. Human activities: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides are causing all species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods (insects and arachnids), fish, crustaceans, corals and other cnidarians, and plants to decline at an alarming rate.
We must take action and work together to protect endangered and threatened species: bees, giraffes, coral reefs, whales, elephants, insects, trees, plants, birds, fish, sharks, crustaceans, sea turtles, great apes and more.
Earth Day Network is asking people to join their Protect Our Species campaign. Their goals are to:
- Educate and raise awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
- Achieve major policy victories that protect broad groups of species as well as individual species and their habitats.
- Build and activate a global movement that embraces nature and its values.
- Encourage individual actions such as adopting plant based diet and stopping pesticide and herbicide use.
Earth Day (April 2019) Resources
“We all have a responsibility to protect endangered species, both for their sake and for the sake of our own future generations.” – Loretta Lynch