Photo Credit: Baylor
The special occasion takes place every year on 22 April. It dates back to 1970 in the United States, and is now marked around the world. Earth Day is a global event which aims to portray the significance of protecting the environment.
Gaylord Nelson, a US senator and environmentalist, and Denis Hayes, a graduate student at Harvard University, are remembered for setting up this day back in 1970.
Both had growing concerns about environmental damage in the US. They came up with Earth Day as a way to engage the public and push green issues to the national agenda.
The first Earth Day saw 20 million people across the US take to the streets. It became a global event in 1990, and now involves over one billion people of all ages in nearly 200 countries, according to organizers.
"Celebrating Earth Day is often the first environmental action for a lot of people," says Earthday.org president, Kathleen Rogers.
The 2024 theme, "Planet vs. Plastics", aims to raise awareness of the harms of plastic pollution for human and planetary health.
Previous events have covered a range of environmental issues, from climate change and clean energy to protecting species and the benefits of tree planting.
This year's focus comes ahead of an historic UN treaty on plastics, which is expected to be agreed by the end of 2024.
More than 50 countries, including the UK, have called for an end to plastic pollution by 2040.
But the organizers of Earth Day want to go further, and are calling for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.
Organizers have suggested that people could volunteer for a clean-up event or learn more about the damage done by plastic pollution.
More recent events have included planting hundreds of millions of trees, supporting farmers with sustainable agriculture practices, and starting climate literacy projects around the world.
Some observers also cite the importance of Earth Day in pushing environmental issues back up national and international agendas.
In 2016, Earth Day was symbolically chosen for the official signing of the landmark Paris climate accord, which had been agreed in late 2015.
Lewis Musonye
