EARTH DAY
It began April 22, 1970 with 20 million
people who, through peaceful rallies throughout
the USA, expressed their concerns about
environmental detriment caused by mankind
and industrialization into one succinct topic:
Earth Day.
RT
This
grassroots
celebration
by
environmentalists, activists, and concerned
citizens exploded into a national and ultimately,
international celebration, where people take a
stand to protect the world around them, the
air quality, ending water pollution, promote
recycling and more.
By 1990, Earth Day was recognized globally
by more than 180 countries and a billion people
taking part in this beautiful celebration. In
2009, the United Nations renamed Earth Day
to International Mother Earth Day. No matter
what the day is called, I’m simply happy the
celebration continues expanding each year.
What I love most about the eco-movement
is checking out the latest “green” technology
from bicycles that clean the air to developments
of urban gardening. Recently I learned about a
proposed design to help clean the oceans from
all of the waste we (for some reason) thought
was a good place to keep trash. Let’s be honest,
there is no good place for our trash so creating
new ways to handle waste and discarded
materials is essential to our planet’s health.
I’m also a tremendous fan of eco-artists
who create gorgeous upcycled art. The term
“upcycling” is still fairly recent but is spreading
like wildfire – it’s when items that would
otherwise be discarded are reused in such a way
as to create a product that is equal or higher
quality to the original state. In our first magazine
issue, the cover page artist reused wood from
homes in Queensland, Australia, and created
beautiful and functional furniture. It’s a cool
concept to repurpose and recreate!
Brandi’s artwork was selected for our Earth
Day cover because not only does she hail from
one of the original cities that celebrated Earth
Day (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in the 70s,
but I appreciate the simplistic and beautiful
message: Be Silly, Be Honest, Be Kind. The Earth
in its unpolluted form is a fun place to explore
– a place where we can go hiking, play outside,
swim in the water – be silly. I also think we have
to be honest with ourselves when it comes to
personal responsibility. If each one of us does
a better job with the environment, the world’s
level of pollution will reduce. And, ultimately,
the message about Earth Day is to be kind. In
order to be kind to the Earth, we must make
conscious decisions so future generations can
enjoy the Earth in all her splendor.
What will you do to celebrate Earth Day?
Plant a tree, pick up trash or ride a bike to work?
Or, will you make a “movie night” out of it and
gather with friends as you watch a documentary
about our world and the changes created to it
by civilization?
The possibilities are endless!
LMarelli
Liesl Marelli
Editor-in-Chief
@LBMarelli