International Mother Earth Day was observed globally on 22 April 2015 with the theme It’s our turn to lead.
The theme highlights the need for change and seeks to inform the communities and leadership that action needs to be taken on climate by promoting a goal of environmental awareness through developing sustainable initiatives and galvanizing every human to pledge Acts of Green.
This is the 45th anniversary of the Earth’s Day, the year when the world leaders will pass a binding climate change treaty in Paris in December 2015. The treaty will be adopted to make sure the future of Earth, our planet and the survival of life on it.
Background of International Mother Earth Day
- International Mother Earth Day also known as Earth Day is being celebrated across the world since 1970.
- The first Earth Day was celebrated on 21 March 1970, the day of vernal equinox that year.
- The concept of observing Earth Day is the brainchild of John McConnell, who proposed the idea of a global holiday called Earth Day at a UNESCO conference on Environment in 1969.
- He chose the vernal equinox—the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere—because it is a day of renewal.
- Vernal equinox is a day on which the night and day are of the same length, everywhere on Earth.
- Further the UN Secretary-General U Thant on 26 February 1971 signed a proclamation that stated that the United Nations would celebrate Earth Day annually on the Vernal Equinox as the international Earth Day.
- A month later, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson founded a separate Earth Day as an environmental teach-in first held on 22 April 1970.
