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‘Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change.’
Hey, I ain’t the one saying it. The United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP) is—being it’s the theme of this year’s World Environment Day (WED).
WED history goes back to 1972, when the UN General Assembly formed it on June 5 to commence the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Every June 5 since, the special day is commemorated in more than 100 countries spanning the globe—from right here on U.S. soil as far as Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. It also happens to take place six months prior to the UN’s critical climate change talks in Copenhagen. And its purpose is to get the world amped up and hold us accountable for creating positive change.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said,
On this World Environment Day. I encourage all people to take concrete steps toward making the planet greener and cleaner. Switch off the lights. Take public transportation. Recycle. Plant a tree. Clean up your local park. Hold corporations responsible for their environmental practices. And urge your government representatives to Seal the Deal in Copenhagen.
In my mind, the thought of the entire world uniting to celebrate a greener future is exciting and larger-than-life—sort of like our Earth Month last April.
So if you’ve been missing all the fun and frenzy around Earth Day, hop on the WED train and find out what sort of events are taking place near you by clicking over to WED’s official events page.
And if all you have is a few moments to devote, that’s fine too. There’s a quick and easy way to make a difference. Follow UNEP’s new Twitter page by tomorrow, June 5, and they’ll plant a tree in your stead. So hurry!
::UNEP
More on World Environment Day:
Get "Together" On World Environment Day Today
80 Ways to Celebrate World Environment Day
What's Your Green IQ (Quiz)?
World Environment Day on TreeHugger:
Twittering for Trees and World Environment Day
World Environment Day and an Interview with UNEP's Achim Steiner
