Earth Protect Blog

From Earthday.org

As the 42nd Anniversary of Earth Day approaches, people are becoming frustrated with the failure of governments to take any steps toward protecting and preserving the environment. The Earth Day 2012 campaign is designed to provide people with the opportunity to unite their voices in a call for a sustainable future and direct them toward quantifiable outcomes, using vehicles such as petitions, the Billion Acts of Green® campaign, and events.

Earth Day 2012 will act as a launch pad for growing the environmental movement and will put forth a bold declaration demanding immediate action to secure Renewable Energy for All and a sustainable future for our planet. The movement will be comprised of individuals of every age from all corners of the Earth, and will call upon local, national, and international leaders to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies, embrace renewable energy technology, improve energy efficiency, and make energy universally accessible.

What can YOU do to Mobilize the Earth?
Throughout the month of April 2012 and on Earth Day (April 22), Earth Day Network and its wide range of partners will organize and promote events to help Mobilize the Earth.  In addition to organizing Earth Day events around the world, Earth Day Network will run the following campaigns:

A Billion Acts of Green®
Individuals, organizations, businesses and governments can voice their support for the campaign by performing environmental actions and lending their names to this global referendum demanding change.  Our goal is to reach one billion actions by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012.  We will present this accomplishment at Rio +20 and use it as a lever to address the UN’s inaction and inspire leaders to reach a global agreement at the Rio+20 Conference.

Campaign for Communities
Today, local leaders around the world are at the forefront of addressing the impacts of climate change and other environmental challenges facing their communities while at the same time struggling to balance budgets, create jobs, and produce energy savings. Campaign for Communities, previously known as Global Day of Conversation, is a platform for leaders around the world to engage their communities in discussions about the challenges and opportunities related to sustainability. Through organized dialogues, leaders will convey their ideas and opinions on environmental issues and share best practices, allowing citizens to learn about ongoing initiatives and provide input on current sustainability plans.  

K-12 Earth Day and Reading for the Earth
Educating today’s youth about environmental sustainability has the power to capture the attention of students, teachers, parents, the community, and beyond. Earth Day 2012’s education mission is simple: encourage as many students as possible to participate in Earth Day activities that teach the importance of civic and environmental responsibility. In addition, through the Reading for Earth program, Earth Day 2012 will work with communities and libraries to promote environmental literacy and educate people about the importance of individual actions that reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

Earth Day University - MobilizeU
Earth Day University will challenge students to exemplify their commitment to environmental activism by taking part in "MobilizeU", an international competition between universities to generate Acts of Green. The competition will be centered around four weeks of activism leading up to Earth Day 2012 that will engage students in various activities, such as registering new voters, collecting personal act-of-green pledges, leading community clean-ups, and organizing major Earth Day events.

Arts for the Earth and Athletes for the Earth
The Arts for the Earth and Athletes for the Earth campaigns aim to bridge the gap between the environmental movement and the arts and sports communities respectively. Through partnerships with individual athletes and artists, stadiums, museums, and events, Earth Day Network will organize various events worldwide and engage fans on the importance of sustainability.

Voter Registration
Earth Day Network and its partners are once again joining forces to reprise their successful civic participation work focusing on environmental issues among youth and communities of color and in low-income communities. Earth Day Network and  its Campaign for Communities partners share the belief that the only way to build a broader and more effective democracy is to help citizens, especially those in traditionally overlooked demographics, develop the skills they need to fully participate in the democratic process.

Petitions
Our petition demands the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency targets, universal renewable energy access, and an end to all fossil fuel subsidies. We plan to deliver the petition to world leaders at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June, 2012.

Religious Outreach
Leaders from all faiths have published a vast array of resources that demonstrate that stewarding and caring for the Earth is wholly consistent with a belief in their God. This year, thousands of religious leaders are preparing Earth Day Sermons to give to their congregations on the week of Earth Day.

Renewable Energy for All
Access to renewable energy resources will play a critical role in the shift to a more sustainable society.  Earth Day Network and TckTckTck are proud to announce a collaboration to mobilize communities worldwide to advocate for a sustainable future through the Renewable Energy for Allcampaign. The campaign will utilize Earth Day 2012 as a global action day to promote renewable energy initiatives and build support for comprehensive action at the UN Rio+20 Conference held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

For more information about Earth Day 2012 and the various campaigns, please visit http://www.earthday.org/2012