PORTLAND, Ore. —
Earth Day happens every year on April 22. Well, every year since 1970. So 2020 marks the holiday's 50th anniversary.
But this year, Earth Day comes in the middle of a global pandemic, so people can't join in-person events to celebrate. Instead, organizers had to get creative to come up with a virtual way to celebrate.
Bethany Shetterly Thomas is the founder of Earth Day Oregon, a network of nonprofits and businesses that care about the planet.
“The reason that Earth Day Oregon exists is to amplify the impact of Earth Day," says Shetterly Thomas.
So after many of the participating nonprofits and businesses had to cancel this year's events due to COVID-19, Shetterly Thomas started brainstorming how the holiday could still take place from home.
At the same time, John Linder, a fifth grade teacher at Creative Science School, was thinking about the same issue.
"I thought, 'We're isolated in our homes at the very time when we need to be coming together,'" he said.
Last fall, his students organized some demonstrations about climate change, inspired by 17-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
“It wasn’t really organized, everyone just brought signs and marched around with different chants we had," said Ella, one of Linder's fifth graders, who is very passionate about saving the planet. "One of our favorites was, ‘What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!’ That was probably our favorite."
So Linder reached out to Shetterly Thomas, and together, they created a new campaign for Earth Day 2020: #MyPlanetMyPledge.
All you need is a piece of paper or cardboard (bonus points for recycled materials), some markers, and a pledge. Then the rest is up to you.
"It can be a personal pledge, like 'I'll ride my bike to school,' or it can be a big statement, like, 'We need to stop using fossil fuels now and replace it with renewable energy,'" Linder said.
Make your sign, put it in your window where it's visible, and then post a picture of it on social media with the hashtag #MyPlanetMyPledge.
"It's a chance for awareness to kind of rise to the top," said Shetterly Thomas. "And for us to use this quieter time to be a little introspective and think about how we can make the planet a better place."
"None of us is alone. We're not just going to sit there and be frustrated," said Linder. "We’ve shown in the response to the coronavirus that we’re willing to make changes in our personal lives in order to protect one another ... And that’s what solidarity is, it’s recognizing that when I help you, I’m helping myself. If I’m not taking care of the most vulnerable, I'm not going to be protected either. And that’s the message that I hope we can take from the coronavirus and apply it to climate change."
What is 10-year-old Ella pledging on her sign? She pledges to start public speaking about climate change (she's off to a great start) to inspire others.
“I hope what comes out of it is that we demand that the government do something about climate change," she said. "All of these signs are for one reason: hoping that someday climate change won’t be a term anymore, because we won’t have to deal with it.”
Of course, stopping climate change will take more than paper signs in our windows.
“While it’s important for us to take these individual actions and share about these individual actions, it’s going to take a lot more," Shetterly Thomas explained. "We need governments and businesses and the nonprofit sector as well to help come together and really make change.”
Linder remembers the first Earth Day back in 1970, and believes that the 50th anniversary is the perfect time to make a big statement.
"What I hope we can do on Wednesday and beyond is show that we are unwilling to sit by while our future is destroyed," he said. "Just like we’ve seen with the coronavirus that a delay of a day or a week can result in a much much greater incidence of disease and death, the same is true of climate change ... The actions that have to be taken are ever more immediate and ever more drastic. And that’s the message that I hope is shared on April 22."
Ella has her own big message to share, with both kids and adults.
"The younger you are, the more time you have to learn about things like this," she said. "To all you older people who aren't in fifth grade, learning about this in a classroom, leave it better than you found it."
So on Wednesday, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, think about what you are going to do to leave the planet better than you found it. And then put that pledge on a sign. And then don't forget about your pledge, because really, every day is Earth Day.
Need ideas of what to put on your sign? Earth Day Oregon has ideas here. You can also join others in an Earth Day Oregon Facebook event.
Cassidy Quinn is the host of Tonight With Cassidy on KGW. But right now, like many of you, she is working from home, trying to focus on the happier things going on in the world. Tonight With Cassidy is currently on hiatus, but you can watch previous segments from the show here, and follow Cassidy on Twitter @CassidyQuinn.