Earth Day 2020: Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough, Barack Obama and more send messages as millions protest online
Updates on this year's modified events focusing on climate action after mass gatherings were cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak
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Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of prominent figures including former President Barack Obama, the Pope, youth activist Greta Thunberg and naturalist Sir David Attenborough have shared messages on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
President Trump took part in a tree-planting ceremony with First Lady Melania at the White House but was mocked for his efforts after he has continually called the climate crisis a “hoax” and failed to take action to tackle it.
Thunberg, who helped inspire millions of youth activists with her Fridays For Future school strikes, tweeted: “Every day is #EarthDay. The changes needed to safeguard future living conditions for all species won’t come from governments or businesses. It will come from the best available science and public opinion. So it’s up to us. Spread the science. #unitebehindthescience”
The first Earth Day on 22 April, 1970 saw 20 million Americans, 10% of the population at the time, demonstrate from coast to coast. Half a century later, millions around the world were expected to take part in the annual day of environmental action to address the huge challenges facing our planet.
This year’s planned in-person gatherings were cancelled after the coronavirus outbreak but the movement pivoted to 72-hours of digital action instead, focusing on the theme of climate action.
Meanwhile, the lockdowns introduced across the world have seen the skies clearing of pollution and wildlife returning to deserted streets, while US oil prices plunged below zero for the first time in history.
Catch-up on events as they happened
Earth Day in lockdown: 7 ways the planet looks drastically different
Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and one of the strangest yet as most of the world is in lockdown and unable to actually enjoy much of the planet at all.
And it's not just people who are impacted. There are a number of ways -- good and bad -- that the environment has been affected by the global lockdown.
From extensive working from home around the world, to stalled emissions from lack of air travel, the earth is beginning to look completely different just in these past few months than it has for decades.
IPCC wishes everyone Happy Earth Day
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change posted their "Happy Earth Day" messages (including in song from one member). The group is working toward its sixth assessment on the effects of climate change.
Leonardo DiCaprio adds his voice to Earth Day
The actor and environmentalist has been involved in the movement since early in his career and has previously addressed the United Nations.
Greta Thunberg says we should give a 'real sarcastic clap' for the companies destroying the world
On Twitter, Thunberg said that people should carry on applauding health care workers but that a special clap should be reserved for the companies still causing harm.
https://www.indy100.com/article/greta-thunberg-coronavirus-health-care-clap-climate-change-earth-day-2020-9477531
Earth Day goes digital amid coronavirus pandemic
The movement is undertaking its first mass online gathering after in-person demonstrations were banned following the outbreak of the coronavirus. Updates on the number of confirmed cases and death tolls can be read here:
Architect of the Paris Climate Agreement calls for bold action on climate change
Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, said: "We can do it. Because we, the human species, have never had the capital, the policies and the technologies to put together in order to transform our world."
President Obama says we should follow young people's example on climate action
POTUS 44 shared his views to mark Earth Day and said that all of us should demand more of our leaders to tackle the climate crisis.
No, the US does not have 'the cleanest air and cleanest water than anywhere else on Earth'
During his Earth Day address on its 50th anniversary, Donald Trump claimed that the US continues to have the "cleanest" air and water on the planet.
But according to multiple reports, including a recent assessment from the American Lung Association, the nation's air quality is in decline.
Nearly half of the US, roughly 150 million people, is breathing polluted air, the 2020 State of the Air report says.
2020 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act, which the Environmental Protection Agency has cited for most of the emissions reductions within the last few decades. But the Trump administration has proposed dramatic rollbacks to the law or dropped enforcement entirely.
Though the US has generally safe drinking water. more than 60 million Americans are exposed to dangerous pollutants in their water, following decades of industrial and farming pollution and deteriorating water infrastructure.
By Alex Woodward
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