Happy Earth Day!

Today we celebrate Earth Day, and because of it I want to talk about the story of Earth Day and why we still need to celebrate it.

The first Earth Day happened on April 22^nd, 1970 in the United States. Inspired by the bestseller Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, and then the push for environmental teach-ins by Senator Gaylord Nelson, it is estimated that around 20 million people across US’s cities went to the streets to ask for some form of environmental consciousness and protection. Since then, every April 22^nd we celebrate Earth Day to join forces and discuss environmental issues. 

Before the first edition of Earth Day, there was no regulation to prevent companies from polluting the environment. We have come a long way since then with not only through the development of numerous environmental laws, but also in terms of general awareness. Today over 190 countries globally are engaged on Earth Day activities and over 1 billion individuals are part of the initiative.

However, we are still far from done. The world is still not as it should be in terms of environmental protection. And while some countries are moving towards the right targets, some are straying away from them. Climate change is a pressing issue and not all organizations are rising up to the challenge yet. Therefore, we still need Earth Day to exist as a movement to inspire action instead of just a celebration of what we have got.

On that note, what can you do for the planet today? Here are just 5 ideas of hundreds of things you can do:

1. Talk about your environmental efforts and why they matter to everyone who still doesn’t understand what the risks of doing nothing are.
2. Know and improve your transportation habits. Understand your carbon footprint when you travel by car by yourself, when you share your car, when you ride a plane, when you ride a bike, etc. Here is an interesting course on the topic and an interesting discussion on whether paleo cyclists are equivalent to Prius drivers.
3. Know and improve your food habits. Food accounts for ~25% of the global carbon emissions, and producing different kinds of food has different impacts in the environment. We don’t all have to become vegans, but we can definitely become responsible consumers.
4. Research what you buy. All consumers can make a statement when they buy products from brands that align with their beliefs. As consumers become better informed and show their preferences more clearly, companies will for sure react.
5. And now something quite simple…Cut plastic rings from six packs before throwing them away. You’ll be saving marine life as they won’t be trapped or choked with it in the (unfortunately likely) case trash ends up in the sea.

Bonus points: if you help run a company or fund ensure you have best in class ESG strategy & execution. If you do not know how, reach out and we will be happy to help!

I hope you found this interesting. As usual, if there is anything we can help you with, please reach out.

Best,

Marimar

CEO, Miranda ESG