Today is Earth Day, marked by people the world over through cleanup efforts, marches, educational outreach programs and other activities.
In Taiwan, the focus today will be on beach and riverside cleaning, and water protection efforts in Taipei and other areas, such as Miaoli County, where volunteers will take part in the “422 We Love Taiwan Coastal Clean-up.”
The first Earth Day events calling on the government and the public to protect the environment were held in the US on April 22, 1970, that year’s Arbor Day, when trees are planted across the nation. What could be more emblematic of protecting the Earth?
Those 1970 events are credited with attracting about 20 million people. In the US, they spurred the passage of such groundbreaking laws as the Clean Water, Clean Air and Endangered Species acts. By 1990, Earth Day had become a global observance.
The focus of this year’s international campaign is environmental and climate literacy, for without knowledge about climate change and other threats to the environment, the public cannot protect the Earth and support “green” technologies, or pressure their elected officials and governments to do so.
Education is the engine for change, in environmental protection as in so many other areas. However, millions of people in almost 500 cities worldwide have pledged to mark Earth Day by taking part in a “March for Science.” Their aim is to demonstrate that scientists’ work is valued, that science plays a crucial role in our lives and that the public wants politicians to implement science-based policy.
The March for Science grew out of a grassroots reaction to US President Donald Trump’s claims that climate change is a hoax and what appeared to be an anti-science bias in his personnel choices and policies, including efforts to curtail the clean water and air laws. The march has since been endorsed by scores of scientific associations and organizations.
It might be hard to believe that empirical research needs to be defended, but it is equally hard to understand how anyone could look at the changes to the Earth in the past few decades and still not believe that the environment needs to be protected.
However, the most valuable contributions to protecting the Earth in the long run are mostly “invisible”: actions that need to become so commonplace that they are no longer seen as remarkable.
This is one area where Taiwan has made huge strides in the past two decades. For instance, less trash needs to be incinerated, as plastic containers, paper waste and metals are increasingly recycled.
And yet, over the same period, the nation has also produced ever greater amounts of waste: bubble tea and coffee cups, lunchboxes, PET bottles, bags and chopsticks — the list seems endless. Reducing waste means sacrificing time, money and convenience.
The central government and local administrations have tried to combat both small-scale and large-scale pollution, yet the biggest difference can be made by individuals, by changing their habits.
Bring your own cup when buying tea or coffee, carry your own steel straw or chopsticks, bring your own bags when shopping, use more public transportation, support companies and industries that protect the environment, support pro-active environmental policies and politicians. Not just today, but every day.
Let us all remember that there is just one Earth — there is no “Planet B.”
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