#OnlyOneEarth

Makenna Goertzen
Staff Writer
  June 5th is annually celebrated and led by the United Nations Environment Programme as World Environment Day, a day created to encourage positive change for the environment. World Environment Day was first recognized in 1974 by the United Nations and is now the most prominent global platform for environmental outreach. It is led and hosted by a different country every year, this year's host being Sweden. This will give Sweden a chance to display its environmental protection and rehabilitation efforts over the last 50 years. Sweden has reduced its usage of fossil fuels which has decreased its greenhouse gas emissions by more then 30 percent from 1990 to 2020. (https://www.worldenvironmentday.global) 
  Each year there is a new theme picked that puts focus on a specific environmental issue, 2022’s theme is “#OnlyOneEarth” putting the main focus on “living sustainably in harmony with nature” (https://www.unep.org). Living a sustainable lifestyle involves using recyclable or reusable materials, being aware of environmental changes in the area, driving less, along with several other methods. The United Nations’ goal is to spread worldwide awareness and protect the environment with the help of civilians worldwide.
  Along with World Environment Day, June 8th is World Ocean Day. A day that aims to support collaborative conservation efforts for the ocean with the help of its “global network of youth” and “organizational leaders in >140 countries.” The day was proposed by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 as a way to honor the ocean while also promoting positive environmental change for it. The day is led by the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council. Its mission is to motivate communities to work together globally, to “protect and restore our shared ocean and climate.” (https://worldoceanday.org/about/) 
  Both days share the same goal of creating and advocating for communities around the world to participate in productive and positive changes to help the environment and oceans. With the help of the population, the founders of these organizations hope to one day provide later generations with a cleaner and safer world. To learn more about these important days and ways to help the environment and oceans, visit these websites - 
https://worldoceanday.org
https://www.worldenvironmentday.global

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