Terra Nova- Lowest place on earth by xnir.com
Today is Earth Day! Earth Day was born in the 1970s in response to the chaotic times:
Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest “to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. ” “It was a gamble,” he recalls, “but it worked.”
At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.
On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
–From Earth Day Network website
www.earthday.net
But in today’s world, as the needs of environmentally products and lifestyle rapidly increasing, it seems like a perfect opportunity to shop. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon have special sales on Earth Day:
Walmart Earth Day sale image courtesy of http://www.walmart.com/
Amazon Earth Day sale image courtesy of http://www.amazon.com
Amazon’s Earth Day slogan: Pro-Planet, Wallet Wise
Major TV networks like NBC has been running green commercials and PSA all week:
The More You Know green commercial with Jimmy Fallon. Image courtesy of http://www.nbc.com/Green/
Even Louis Vuitton is having an Earth Day Sale:
Louis Vuitton Earth Day Sale image courtesy http://www.louisvuitton.com
What do you think?
Is Earth Day a celebration of Environment or Consumerism???
Are corporations using Earth Day as an excuse to stimulate the sales?
Greenwashing?