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Earth Day – just the one?

First published: Wairarapa Midweek 20 April 2016

In case you’d missed the news, this Friday is Earth Day. Ever since the 1970’s, the world has celebrated April 22nd as a day to support environmental protection.

I’m all for raising awareness of climate change and the steps we need to take to mitigate it, but a once-a-year celebration feels a bit like the crash diet we start every New Year, just as the Christmas ham runs out. We start off with the best of intentions, but drop back into old habits a few days later.

As far as Earth Day events go, 2016 has one of the big ones. The landmark Paris agreement on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is due to be signed on the 22nd by the United States, China and 120-odd other countries. Continue reading “Earth Day – just the one?”