Ann Arbor, MI – The beginning of June celebrates two eco-inspiring holidays – World Environment Day (June 5) and World Ocean Day (June 8).  As both United Nations holidays remind us to not only celebrate our Earth’s biodiversity, they call us into action to share our planet and its resources to protection this amazing biodiversity.

World Environment Day beginning on June 5, 1972, became a day where the United Nations could stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment to encourage political attention and action.  It also was able to give a human face to environmental issues and allow people to realize that it was their responsibility and in their power to become agents of change in support of sustainable and equitable development around the world.  This year the theme “Many Species. One Planet. One Future” challenges us to consider carefully the actions each of us must take to help with the common task of preserving and conserving all life on Earth.

The worldwide celebration last week paved the way for some of the following highlights:

• Schoolchildren and villagers across Rwanda will be receiving solar power
• $85,000 went for gorilla conservation in Rwanda
• City of Genoa (Italy) joined with Climate Neutral Network with a climate neutral commitment
• The government of Azerbaijan pledged to plant 30 million trees

World Ocean Day, originally celebrated since 1992, became an official recognized day by the United Nations in 2008.  This year’s theme focuses on the ocean’s great diversity of life and how our conservation efforts protect this diversity.  The Ocean Project, original supporter of the day, reminds us:

• Each of us relies on a healthy ocean with a rich diversity of life to provide most of the oxygen we breathe, much of the food we eat, as well as medicines and other essentials that we need to survive.

• The ocean provides for millions of jobs and endless opportunities for inspiration and recreation such as diving, snorkeling, fishing, and boating.

• The greater the diversity of life in the ocean the better job the ocean will do in helping maintain the planet’s normal climate conditions and in adjusting to a changing climate.

Take a small step to protect the remarkable biodiversity our planet holds– go to The UN World Environment Day identify which activities you can personally do to reduce your impact on the planet.  The Ocean Project has a national inventory of events celebrating today.

The staff at Resource Recycling Systems takes pride in our daily efforts as we help to establish recycling programs, design compost facilities, find woody waste sources for biomass energy production and develop carbon neutral strategies.

Do your part to protect our planet – use less and act more.

Categories: Holidays