World Environment Day: What Does It Mean to You?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010World Environment Day (WED 2010) is being celebrated on Saturday June 5th, 2010. With a theme of “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.”, the focus of this year’s World Environment Day is to draw people’s attention to the importance of biodiversity and the fragile nature of life on this planet of ours.
In the UN Secretary General’s statement about World Environment Day, he talks about the fact that we must “stop this mass extinction and raise awareness about the vital importance of the millions of species that inhabit our planet’s soils, forests, oceans, coral reefs and mountains. Our health, well-being and sustainable future depend on this intricate, delicate web of ecosystems and life.”
Along those lines, Rwanda, a country widely recognized for its green efforts, has been named as the global host for this year’s World Environment Day. It is Rwanda’s environmental splendor, it being the home to over 52 threatened yet ecologically-essential species such as the mountain gorilla, its never-ending dedication to reforesting its rain forests and their tireless push towards the use of renewable energies that makes them the perfect global host for WED 2010.
Image by schacon
Here are two key ways you can actively participate in World Environment Day:
1) Plant a tree. UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) currently has a Billion Tree Campaign running. Their target is 7 billion trees planted by the end of 2010. Apparently over 3 billion trees have already been planted.
2) Register your WED 2010 activity on the WED website and help “Take a Stand for the Gorillas“. UNEP has set a goal to raise $50,000 US to help protect the gorillas in Rwanda. For every activity or positive environmental action that is registered on the WED website, $10 will be donated to help protect the gorillas.
Saving the gorillas is an important issue as it has been found that human contact, such as that from eco-tours, is causing dangerous stress to gorillas. It is affecting their eating habits, making them more aggressive, etc. Since this is something that is being caused by human contact, then don’t you think it’s something we can help resolve?
So, to help get you in the spirit of World Environment Day, take a look at this performance of Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” as performed at the 2010 Grammy Awards (song starts at about the 1:55 mark). Even without 3-D glasses, it is a great video to watch:
Remember, the intention behind World Environment Day isn’t to get you to join hands and say you care about the environment. It’s to get you to take a look around you and actually make some changes in your life that contribute to your personal survival and the prolonged existence of the many species that make up our world.
Start by taking a look at these “Daily Do Something Tips” and see if there is one thing, or more than one thing, that you can change about your daily routine to make your life more environmentally-friendly. Then ask yourself this question: What does World Environment Day mean to me? I’d love to hear what you think about World Environment Day.









