The LuLac Edition #4,267, April 22nd, 2020

EARTH DAY @ 50

This is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network[1] in more than 193 countries
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In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later a United States Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event “Earth Day.” Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in recognition of his work.[6] The first Earth Day was focused on the United States. In 1990, Denis Hayes, the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international and organized events in 141 nations.
Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces.

AFTER HALF  A CENTURY, HOW ARE WE DOING ON EMISSIONS?

How do energy and emissions in the United States compare to the rest of the world?

Eighty percent of US energy consumed is from fossil fuels, but the share of US energy consumption from nuclear and renewable sources has nearly doubled since 1980 to 20% in 2019.

Forty-two percent of US renewable and nuclear energy consumption is from nuclear sources, followed by 25% from biomass like wood and biofuels.

In 2017, the US ranked 5th among the world’s 10 largest economies for its proportion of energy consumption coming from renewable and nuclear energy.

New Hampshire and Washington State lead the country in renewable and nuclear energy consumption as of 2017, with this energy making up 53% and 50% of consumption, respectively. The median state, Virginia, consumes 21%.

The US emitted 5.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2017, making up 14% of the world’s emissions that year.

Transportation is the largest source of US emissions, surpassing electricity generation in 2017.

The US emitted 15.8 tons of carbon dioxide per person in 2017, ranking 2nd among the world’s top 10 gross emitters.

The average American generated 4.5 lbs of solid trash (food waste, paper, etc.) daily in 2017, up from 3.6 lbs per day in 1980. 

(State of the Earth Report)