The month of April is known as Earth Month. With millions of people around the globe celebrating Earth Month, it is critical to use this opportunity to raise awareness about the environmental problems and threats we are facing, as well as to pay close attention to our relationship with and obligations to our planet.
While Earth Month celebrations kicked off on April 1, Earth Day itself is marked on April 22. This is observed in more than 190 countries and by nearly 1 billion people of different religions, ethnicities and nationalities. This year’s event marks the 53rd anniversary of the first Earth Day. Every year, Earth Day has a theme and this year’s official theme is “Invest In Our Planet,” with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as individuals, being encouraged to invest in a better future for Mother Earth.
As Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, explained, governments can “pass regulations, they can promote (a) green economy. We need to invest in innovators and innovation, but we need to do it the right way … (For) individuals it’s about investing your personal time, your political vote, investing in your community, investing your money into going green.”
The culmination of several important events gave birth to Earth Day. One key incident was the Santa Barbara oil spill disaster. In 1969, millions of gallons of oil spilled off the coast of California, killing more than 10,000 dolphins, seals, sea lions and seabirds. This led to the mobilization of many activists, who pushed for environmental regulations and ultimately Earth Day. Key individuals included John McConnell, the peace activist who was also known for designing the Earth Flag; US Sen. Gaylord Nelson, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the Clinton administration; the labor leader Walter Reuther; and the environmental advocate Denis Allen Hayes, who is also an advocate for solar power. In 1990, Earth Day went global with the help of Hayes, as 200 million people in more than 100 countries were mobilized. And on Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change was opened for signature.
Common activities people do during Earth Month or on Earth Day include joining a local group to clean up parks, streets, highways or beaches, coming up with ideas to save energy at home, planting a tree, beginning to compost at home, teaching children about the importance of recycling, going for a walk with the family and appreciating the beauty of nature, doing some gardening at a community garden, learning about different plants, and raising awareness of endangered animals.
From a wider perspective, one important issue to address is climate change. This can be done more effectively if it is conducted through a top-down approach, in which governments and international organizations take important executive actions. Inspiring and promising examples can be seen in the Middle East. While some scholars, policy analysts and politicians might think that a region that is the oil hub of the world is not an obvious place to look for innovation in green technologies, it is critical to point out that the region has experienced a quiet shift in its understanding and recognition of the fact that avoiding action on climate change is no longer possible.
For example, the Gulf states have pledged to increase the proportion of their energy mixes that come from renewable sources. Saudi Arabia aims to generate half of its power needs from renewable sources by 2030. And the UAE’s goal is to have clean energy provide 50 percent of its energy mix by 2050. When speaking at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh in 2021, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said: “Whatever we will do in the Kingdom will support emissions reduction, and we are doing it willingly because the economic benefits (from new energy technologies) are clear. We will enjoy being looked at as a reasonable and responsible international citizen because we will be doing more than most European countries by 2030 to combat climate change.”
The Kingdom has also announced hugely ambitious plans to build NEOM, the world’s first city without roads, in a clear signal of its intent to change to a more environmentally friendly direction. Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Jaber, the chairman of Masdar, said that the UAE could become a producer of low-cost hydrogen. There appears to be a growing understanding in the region that technologies such as carbon capture and storage need to be developed to keep the oil industry viable in the long term.
Finally, imagine how much better the future of our planet will be if each one of us invests as much as we can every day, not just to save our planet but to also make it thrive. In other words, every day should be Earth Day.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
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