EARTH DAY

The Times NIE2-page

special issueis packed with info and

lots for you to do!

Your take on the Earth Day viapaintings etc in a column

dedicated to YOU!

DIYs that will testyour eco-learning skills and more

B E N N E T T, C O L E M A N & C O. LT D. | E S TA B LI S H E D 183 8 | T I M E S O F I N D I A . C O M | N E W D E L H I

Newspaper inEducation

STUDENT EDITION

WEB EDITION

➤ The Union Oil Company’s oil spillin February 1969—which covered

800 square miles of ocean in crudeoil— inspired then-Senator GaylordNelson of Wisconsin to organise thefirst Earth Day in 1970.

NATIONAL ENV POLICY ACT

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

APRIL 22, 2020, WILL MARK 50YEARS OF EARTH DAY

➤ Their theme is climate actionon account of the vast challengeand opportunities it represents,action on climate change has distinguished the issue as themost pressing topic for the 50thanniversary.

➤ On April 22, tune into EarthDay online. The world’s

largest civic event is going digi-tal for the first time in its histo-ry. Head to their website to be apart of this digital event, or participate in a local one.

What’s special about this Earth Day 2020

270,000: Prematuredeaths annually caused by theuncontrolled burning of house-hold waste.

Two Billion: people live with-out any waste collection services.

79% of all plastics ever pro-duced have accumulated in

landfills and the naturalenvironment.

Credit:www.earthday.org

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Why: At theend of

2020, nations will beexpected to increasetheir commitments tothe 2015 Paris Agree-ment on climatechange. So the time isnow for citizens to call for greater globalambition to tackle climate crisis.

Need: “Despite decades ofenvironmental

progress, we find ourselves facing aneven more dire, almost existential, setof global environmental challenges, thatcall for action at all levels of government,”said Denis Hayes, the organiser of the firstEarth Day in 1970.

What Can Be Done: For Earth Day2020, we will build a new

generation of environmentalist activists, engaging millions of peopleworldwide,” added Hayes.

THE THEME THE THEME

Why is climateaction thetheme?

❏ Climate change represents thebiggest challenge to the futureof humanity. Unless everycountry steps up withurgency, we are consign-ing current and futuregenerations to a dan-gerous future

How to celebrate Earth Day

The simplest way to start isto make an Earth Day signand hang it from your win-

dow, or display it on your frontyard/terrace. Create your ownslogan or head to www.earth-day.org for some cool ideas (https://www.earthday.org/ac-tions/make-an-earth-day-win-dow-sign/) Don’t forget to include#EARTHRISE, #EarthDay2020, orearthday.org on your sign.

We checked www.earthday.org for some ideas on how to express and voice your support for the planet by doing the following

Advocate it

Plant a tree

Donating to or-ganisations likewww.sankalp-

taru.org orwww.grow-trees.comor more such is anoth-er positive step thatyou can take.

Read it, don’t stream it!

According to the Shift Project, a French think-tank, the greenhouse gas

emissions of video-on-demandservices such as Netflix andAmazon Prime are equivalentto the emissions of a countrysuch as Chile. This is why weneed to read more books!

START ACOMPOST

● Use a trash can or aplastic bin that has a lid. ● Drill some holes in thebottom of it, so it canbreathe well.

● Put in “brown” itemsfirst, like grass clippings,leaves, twigs, even shred-ded newspaper. Coffee,tea bags and filters too.● Put in your “green”items – your old foodproducts like egg shells.● You can even put petfur in there!

What is it?Tune into Earth Day Live, a three-daylivestream commemorating the 50thanniversary of Earth Day.

When is it?9 am to 9 pm ET on April 22nd,23rd, and 24th at www.earth-daylive2020.org and accessi-ble to watch on platformssuch as Facebook, YouTube,Twitter, and Twitch.

Who will bethere?Stars includingJoaquin Phoenix,Moby, PatriciaArquette, Jane

Fonda, RobbyRomero, Al

Gore, Stacey Abrams in conversationwith leading scientists and journal-ists about the ongoing climate cri-sis. Musical performances and DJsets include Jason Mraz, Angélique

Kidjo, Emily Wells, Aimee Mann, TedLeo, Jack Johnson and others.

What else? The livestream willinclude a segment onglobal communities onthe climate crisis — host-ed by actor Luke Baines

and journalist SharonCarpenter — and a discus-

sion on climate grief.

EVENT WATCH

ANTHROPOCENE: Refers to thecurrent geological era, charac-terised by human impact.

BRIGHT GREEN: Signifies that“sustainable innovation is thebest path to lasting prosperity.”

CARBON SHREDDER: Someonewho works assiduously to reducecarbon-dioxide emissions.

ECO-DENTISTRY: Promoting envi-ronmentally sound practices ofprofessional dental care.

GEO-ENGINEERING: Scientistslooking for radical solutions tocounteract global warming.

LOCAVORE: Those who only con-sume locally grown food. Wasword of the year in 2007.

PLANTARIAN: Those who pro-mote a plant-based diet as ahealthy lifestyle choice.

PRECYCLING: To reduce the number of soda bottles and cans that end up in landfills.

Specially curatedactivity sheetswill teach you a

thing or two aboutour flora and fauna(that’s the hint!)

Ecowarrior during COVID-19 lockdownMeenakshi Sharma, founder at Use Me Works, an upcycling organisation, shows us to continue our support for the planet

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Get to know some of the Gen Z environmental activists hoping to change the world, onestep at a time.

Jamie Margolin,17

2 “Life as we know it iscoming to an end

thanks to climate change and rapid envi-ronmental destruction,” Jamie Margolintold a magazine. “As a young person, I amalways asked and expected to plan for myfuture. How am I supposed to plan andcare about my future when my leadersaren’t doing the same, and instead leav-ing my generation and all future genera-

tions with a planet that is inhospitable andimpossible to sustain civilisation?”

Katie Eder, 19

3 The executive director of FutureCoalition, the largest network of

youth-led organisations and youthorganisers across the country,

Katie Eder, organised twoclimate strikes and aidedthe formation of the

#AllEyesOnJuliana cam-paign by age 19.

Nadia Nazar, 17

4 Co-founder, co-execu-tive, and art director of

Zero Hour, Nadia Nazar joined Margolin inbringing this environmental movement to

life. She helped lead a three-day event thatcentered on climate change activism in theUS. For Nazar, animals inspired her involve-ment in the fight for climate justice.READ MORE SUCH INSPIRING STORIESHERE

BE A

CONSERVE WATER:

5 Washing dishes isgreat but are youusing more water

than what is actuallyrequired? Be judicious withwater by not opening thetap fully, which will help yousave water. Also, wash allyour fruits and veggies in a

bucket, then reusethis water for gardening.

MAKE ECO-BRICKS

3 You can google howto make eco-brickswith pet bottles and

single-use plastics.

CARE FOR OTHER CREATURES:

4 The increasingly warm summer iswrecking havoc on creatures bigand small who need food and

water. The birds in your backyard/ter-race will thank you for keeping smallbowls of water and leftover crushedchapatis/rice. As for the dogs andcats in your neighbourhood, leavesome water and food on thestreet for them.

CREATE A MINIHERB GARDEN

2 Create a miniherb garden onyour terrace or

balcony and take care of it every day.

MAKE PAPER BAGS:

1 To maintain social distancing, mostpeople get their groceries and veg-gies in plastic bags from vendors.

But this adds to the plastic waste! As analternative, use old newspapers gather-ing dust in your house, and convertthem into paper bags.

➤ The Cuyahoga River, Ohio, US,was so polluted that it burst

into flames. Twenty years later, USCongress passed the Clean WaterAct, which created regulations forwaste disposal in water.

CLEAN WATER ACT

➤ The creation of marine sanctu-aries started in 1972 – with the

Marine Protection, Research andSanctuaries Act. Now these sanctu-aries protect biological, historical,and cultural treasures.

MARITIME PROTECTION ACT

➤Whales, dolphins, seals, andmanatees in Florida’s Crystal

River received strict protectionfrom hunting and harassment withthe 1972 Marine MammalProtection Act.

MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT

Greta Thunberg, 16

1 A Nobel Peace Prize nominee,Greta Thunberg is the Swedish

teen who’s quickly made herway to the forefrontof the climate-justice movement.

GEN Z ECO ACTIVISTS

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”GÉRARD DE NERVAL, FRENCH WRITER AND POET

EarthSPECIAL

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RUBAL KOHLI, class IV, St. Joseph Academy, Savita Vihar, Delhi

YASH PARTAP SINGH, CLASS VII, YPS, MOHALI

GRACY VIKRAMADITYA, class 7th, MaharajaAgarsain Public School, Ashok Vihar, Phase-4, Delhi

NITIKA, CLASS VI, RIMT WORLD SCHOOL,MANIMAJRA, CHANDIGARH

AYUSHI LAKRA, SADHU VASWANI INTERNATIONALSCHOOL FOR GIRLS, CLASS VIII

Plastic is toxic!Makes the worldchaotic.Stop using plastic,As it makes our lifepathetic.Save the Earth,The place of your birth,The origin of life,It’s where you thrive!But no one really knows,How long would we survive?Due to our actions, Our future's at stake. Destroying Earth's beauty,Its development we say!But the Earth reacted in a different way!"One day, when you will see my anger, Then you will die of thirst and hunger"Stop the use of plastic,as we all know that plastic is toxic.

Protecting Earth is justensuring our living, To enjoy ourfruitful lifethat's coming.

NUPUR JAIN,Class 10th BRPVV, Yamuna Vihar

READ MORE ATWWW.TOISTUDENT.COM

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1. Seal pup 2. Macaquemonkey 3. Beardeddragon 4. Emperormoustached tamarin5. Humboldt penguin

ANSWERS

It should be our earnest endeavour to value every resource, everylife form for a harmonious co-existence. After all, its not just wehuman species that are Earth’s inhabitants. With a lot being done toconserve the environment on various days, I feel everyday should beobserved as Earth day. Each one of us should keep doing our bit. Asan educationist, I make sure my staff and I work on creating sensitiv-ity amongst our students towards our Mother Earth. A lot needs tobe done regularly, to shape the thought processes of the youth andthe children, towards protecting our environment. It is not a day’stask but an everyday essential. VANDANA TRIPATHI, Principal, D.A.V. P.P.S, Panchkula

THINGS TO DO ON EARTH DAY:1. Plant a tree2. Don't eat meat3. Don't pollute the environment 4. Shop at local farmer's shop5. 3R's-Reuse,Reduce,Recycle6. Donate food to the needyG.LAKSHMAN, class XII B, Bethel Mat Hr Sec School

It appears likely that the global coronavirus outbreak will cut green-house gas emissions this year. But it would be a mistake to assumethat the rapidly spreading virus will meaningfully reduce the dangerof cl imate change. During lockdown you can use energy wisely andstop buying unnecessary items in plastic. Maitreyi Singh, class VII C, Our Lady of Fatima Convent SecondarySchool

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Excerpted from the Econuts series (by Sonia Mehta) published by Puffin books

Excerpted from the Econuts series (by Sonia Mehta)published by Puffin books

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