Every year 22 April is celebrated as Earth Day across the world. Earth Day symbolizes the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The theme of this year Earth Day 2022 is Invest in Our Planet.
We all are surviving and eking out our livelihoods from this earth so the earth is nurturing us and we must be grateful to earth. In all religions,the importance of earth has been highlighted. In Hindu ‘Bhumi Puja/Pujan’ is known to many. In general,it means the tradition of offering prayers to Mother Earth before beginning construction work.
A few lines about the earth on Earth Day I am highlighting from the website nationalgeographic.com for the benefit of readers.
With a radius of 3,959 miles, Earth is the fifth largest planet in our solar system, and it’s the only one known for sure to have liquid water on its surface. Earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days. Since our calendar years have only 365 days, we add an extra leap day every four years to account for the difference.
Though we can’t feel it, Earth zooms through its orbit at an average velocity of 18.5 miles a second. During this circuit, our planet is an average of 93 million miles away from the sun, a distance that takes light about eight minutes to traverse. Almost 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered in oceans of liquid water that average 2.5 miles deep. These bodies of water contain 97 percent of Earth’s volcanoes and the mid-ocean ridge, a massive mountain range more than 40,000 miles long (nationalgeographic.com).
According to the website earthday.org/ for Earth Day 2022, we need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). The Great Global Cleanup is a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of trash from neighbourhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. It is also evident from the website that the fashion industry is responsible for over 8 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable Fashion refers to a clothing supply chain that is ecologically and socially responsible. Now is the opportunity to shift the industry and consumers away from the fast fashion model and toward sustainable practices in sourcing, production, distribution, marketing, and consumption. While discussing Earth Day a case from Hyderabad may be referred (earthday.org/).
In the context of Earth Day, a case from Hyderabad, India may be highlighted. Pragati Resorts was established by a dynamic Telugu person Dr. G.B.K Rao presently CMD of the Pragati Resorts Group gets enormous credit as this bio-diversity park was established in 1994 near Hyderabad city which was totally barren with the awful climatic conditions before 1994. The water in the area was at an awfully low level due to the mining of limestone which made the land unfit for cultivation even. Dr. G.B.K Rao selected the land-based on three criteria – i) it is away from the city and also away from the highway, ii) the area is totally non-cultivable /barren, and iii) totally very low level of water. Now, the area has been turned into heaven and the people call it “Pragati is Heaven on Earth”. Around 800 varieties of herbal heritage and medicinal plants, other rare mother plants, and trees inter alia are Kalpavriksha (also known as Kalpataru), have been planted in Pragati. This is spread over an area of 2500 acres. In the Resorts, there is a provision of ‘Amrutha Ahaaram’ (meaning Amrita/lifesaving foods), and this special 3-day package has been designed to boost immunity levels naturally to fight against any type of virus or bacteria.
On Earth Day, 2022 a famous name from India who is an eminent environmentalist also should be mentioned. He is Professor K. Purushotham Reddy, a former Professor of Osmania University, Hyderabad. In many forums across the country, he has highlighted the importance of the environment for the survival of human beings by discarding the water, air, and noise pollution. And for this, he organized peaceful agitation also to save mother Earth.
On Earth Day, 22 my Salute to the people, who have been working to make Earth Clean and Green and also helping to make it free from pollution. In this regard, two names which I have already mentioned, I am reiterating Dr. G.B.K Rao and Professor K. Purushotham Reddy.
