Invest In Our Planet

 

Friday is Earth Day! The theme for this year’s international Earth Day celebration — held every year on April 22 — is Invest In Our Planet:

Because a green future is a prosperous future.

We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.

And while there is still time to solve the climate crisis, time to choose BOTH a prosperous and sustainable future, and time to restore nature and build a healthy planet for our children and their children, time is short.

 

Unfortunately, the latest reports recently issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 6th Assessment Reports) indicate we have no time to spare to make meaningful changes in order to reverse course, away from climate chaos and towards a hopeful and healthy future for our children. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres made that much clear last August when he called the IPCC’s report on the physical science a “code red for humanity”.

The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable:  greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.  Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible.

The internationally agreed threshold of 1.5°C is perilously close.  We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5°C in the near term.  The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts and pursuing the most ambitious path.

 

The Secretary-General’s alarm grew louder with the release of the IPCC’s next report on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities in February:

I have seen many scientific reports in my time, but nothing like this.

Today’s IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.

With fact upon fact, this report reveals how people and the planet are getting clobbered by climate change.

 

Secretary-General Guterres detected a glimmer of hope after reading this month’s report on climate change mitigation:

Leaders who claim to be protecting their people by doubling down on fossil fuels are doing the exact opposite: throwing their people to the wolves of energy insecurity, price volatility and climate chaos.

The IPCC report lays out a saner, safer approach, one that would get the world back on track by using renewable solutions that provide green jobs, energy security and greater price stability.

Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action, now. It is time to stop burning our planet, and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us.

In the days leading up to Earth Day this Friday, The PediaBlog will address ways in which climate change, environmental degradation, and pollution threaten our health and the health of our children and grandchildren. For this old man, Earth Day was a big deal back in the day:

I remember the very first Earth Day in April 1970. I was 10 years old — in 4th grade — and where I grew up, that first Earth Day was a really big deal. It still is, every single year. For me, Earth Day is a time to rekindle the spirit of nature and reconnect with all other life forms on the only planet we have to ride on.

We must commit to make every day Earth Day — to reconnect to the natural world — and choose to protect the health and future prosperity of our children and grandchildren, and all children who haven’t yet been born.

 

Finding something to do on Earth Day shouldn’t be too difficult. Sally Quinn suggests 11 family-friendly ideas connecting Pittsburgh-area residents of all ages with events commemorating Earth Day and celebrating the only planet we have:

As a global initiative, Earth Day started on April 22, 1970. Since then, the enterprise has grown from a single day to weeks of special projects dedicated to cleaning up the environment and spreading the word about how to live a greener life. One day is simply not enough to contain all of the events and activities planned around the Pittsburgh area.

 

Investing in our planet means investing for our children’s future. Because while we have excellent alternatives to fossil energy and materials, there are no alternatives to clean air, clean water, and a stable climate system.

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/04/18/invest-in-our-planet/