Why do we celebrate Earth Day?

Fortunately, during the past few years, there have been a lot of discussions revolving around the Earth Day. People all over the globe would  observe 22nd April 2016 as the 46th anniversary of  Earth Day . It was started back in 1970 in response to a massive oil spill near Santa Barbara, Calif during 1969. But spreading awareness or concern for one day enough ?

Image credit: startribune.com

Scientists all over the world have been raising concerns over global warming. The average temperature rise year on year has been increasing. The glaciers are melting and the sea levels are increasing. This poses a great threat to future generations as the majority portion of the Earth is covered by water.

Rapid industrialization causes excessive consumption of fossil fuels and in turn emits greenhouse gases. These gases are responsible for trapping the heat on the planet which in turn increases the average temperature of our globe.  Lately, in the 2015 United Nations Summit in Paris, an agreement has been developed among nations to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.

Although a lot of actions have been taken recently following so many threatening findings from scientists all over the world, the efforts have just started and a lot remains to be done. No other creature has exploited this planet like human beings have done. Human beings are responsible for disturbing the ecological balance and now the planet faces a lot of anomalies including irregular rainfalls, storms, and floods. A lot of animal species have already become extinct due to poaching.

Earth Day can be a good reminder for all of us, what we have given back to mother nature ? Each and every individual should do his/her bit to avoid things that are harmful to the planet and ultimately themselves. It may be small efforts like planting more trees, avoiding fossil fuels, using public transport or renewable sources of energy. These small efforts would ultimately lead to the great difference to the entire ecology and the planet would sustain healthily for the future generations to see.


Article by Sudhanshu Ghosh