It’s a haunting fact that many of us don’t want to acknowledge, especially during a global pandemic, but the Earth is rapidly changing thanks to climate change.
This Earth Day, on the event’s 51st anniversary, it would be easy to see the problems we face as ubiquitous and unavoidable; however, every one of us can contribute to change.
Swansea City Council promoted the “Lights out for Earth Hour” event on March 27th, which saw a large number of houses turn off all electricity in their houses between 8:30 and 9:30. This event also saw the famous Guildhall and the civic centre lights go out during this period.
The council have stated that this is just a snippet of the great work going on with the council, as they are fully committed to reducing the city’s electricity usage and carbon footprint. Andrea Lewis, the council’s joint deputy leader and cabinet member for homes, energy and service transformation stated that “the council is playing its part by declaring a climate emergency, re-doubling our work to reduce our carbon footprint and aiming to make the council net zero carbon by 2030”.
The official page for World Earth Day has all the information and figures to back up the need for a day of dedication. The site also highlights its ongoing projects, mostly focusing on conservation and protection.
One such project is “The Canopy Project” which enlists the ambassadors of the organization to plant trees with generous donations from the public, in an effort to push back the effects of deforestation, which have decimated much of the world forests.
The project has been running for 11 years and has planted millions of trees in that time, a truly impressive feat. Trees have been planted across the world, ranging from right here in the UK to Egypt, Myanmar and Japan. If you’re interested in donating please follow this link.
On the website, the organization promotes a counter that showcases just how many of us are willing to join the fight against climate change, as over 2.5 billion actions have been taken since 2010, a truly mind-boggling number.
Change begins with everyone. This World Earth Day, why not organise an event, donate or take a pledge to reduce your carbon footprint, for a better tomorrow.
