On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we discuss what it means to be celebrating the 50th Earth Day amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd, 1970 in the United States. As many as 20 million people across the country got involved, and the event is widely considered to have marked the birth of the modern environmental movement. Today, the Earth Day Network coordinates events in more than 190 countries around the world and estimates that a billion people take part in Earth Day celebrations. This April 22nd, of course, many of us will still be under orders to stay in our homes or will be otherwise quarantining or self-isolating. But a half-century of the environmental movement is such a big moment that it must be commemorated.

How have Earth Day celebrations changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? How do we keep attention focused on environmental issues during such a widespread health crisis — a health crisis born of our mistreatment of the environment? How do we push back on attempts to use the crisis as cover for pushing through environmentally damaging projects and policies? How do we keep hope and inspiration alive that we can build a better tomorrow for the planet, for people, and for all the creatures we share the planet with?

To help answer these questions, we’re bringing two guests onto the show today. Trammell Crow is a Dallas, Texas-based businessman and the founder of EarthX, which is billed as the largest Earth Day event in the world. We also welcome to the program Ginger Cassady, executive director of the Rainforest Action Network, an environmental advocacy group that targets the companies driving deforestation and the climate crisis.

For more on COVID-19’s connections to the wildlife trade and destruction of nature, see our March 31, 2020 episode of the Mongabay Newscast.

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Follow Mike Gaworecki on Twitter: @mikeg2001

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