This year, the Earth Day Network announced that the 2021 theme for Earth Day is “Restore Our Earth.” Unknown to many, the Earth Day Network creates a new theme every year to conform with the current environmental problems in that specific year. Some themes from past years include “Climate Action,” “New Energy for a New Era” or “Trees for Earth.” With the 2021 theme being “Restore Our Earth,” the Earth Day Network hopes to promote the importance of preserving and rehabilitating our natural world processes and support new “green” technologies. As we can see, not only with the climate emergency, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, reverting back to our careless ways cannot sustain us as a society. But if going back to our old ways is not an option, what can we expect for our future?
Earthday.org Restore Our Earth Graphic
Restore Natural Processes
Several environmental campaigns, backed by the Earth Day Network, focus on restoration efforts. For example, The Canopy Project works to reforest areas of deforestation. For every $1 donated, one tree gets planted. Over the last 20 years, the group planted millions of trees in crucial areas. The Canopy Project currently works in areas of Uganda, Mexico, and most recently, Madagascar. The Earth Day Network also runs a Food and Environment campaign. This campaign aims to inspire eco-friendly/sustainable farming practices. Researchers state that one third of earth’s soil shows degraded quality. When soil quality degrades, so does the overall crop production. This greatly impacts food security for different regions and if we don’t recognize this problem soon, more communities will face this issue. Restoring soil quality by decreasing pesticide or fertilizer use, increasing crop diversity and crop rotation, will make for an overall healthier and sustainable farming industry.
Tree planting
Emerging Green Technologies
Innovators work every day to develop new technologies to create a greener society. Some recent developments to look forward to include: Wastewater energy production, electric vehicles, or my personal favorite development, green architecture. Luckily, in the past decade, the United States’ investment in green technology has increased drastically. As long as we push for these eco-friendly investments, we can hope that our vision of a sustainable society will become reality!
Vertical Forest- Milan IT
By: Miranda Gonzales, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
Sources:
https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-network-announces-annual-theme-restore-our-earth/
