Earth Day, celebrated this Monday, April 22, is significant this year because of the threats to humanity. This is why APPAA, for the Promotion and Protection of the Azores, begins by recalling the event in a statement sent to newsrooms. The United Nations adopted Earth Day in 2009, established in 1970 in the United States of America.
United States of America, promoted by American senator Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), organized an environmental forum involving around 20 million participants. Now, it is celebrated in more than 190 countries, each expressing a commitment to the protection and need to preserve natural resources, the environment, and the sustainability of the Earth.
In its document, the APPAA considers that this year’s this year’s theme – Planet versus plastics – justifies associating in various ways with what is intended with this option, recalling that one of the association’s main objectives is to to contribute to environmental education, which is also achieved by calling for changes in behavior. One of these is the consumption of
single-use plastics, which will be phased out by 2030. The pollution caused by the dumping of tons of plastic, especially in the oceans, with the formation of veritable plastic islands, threatens marine life and, directly, the resources that humanity needs.
Waste, according to the APPAA, “is one of the evils of the wealthiest group of societies, in which our country and our region belong. On the contrary, a large part of humanity lives with various kinds of shortages, which the UN has sought to intervene with the means at its which the UN has sought to intervene with the means at its disposal and has warned about, above all through its Secretary-General, António Guterres.


One of the central warnings has been about the climate crisis, which is constantly worsening, with more violent and frequent storms, with which our region has also been hit. Severe floods and droughts are recurring in various areas of the world with enormous consequences, one of the most serious being hunger, which has not diminished. Meanwhile, not just the waste of plastic and other goods and raw materials exacerbates pollution, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, causing the climate crisis. Food waste is a mistake that consumer societies make, and that would be more than enough to feed the entire world population when a percentage of around 10% of this population is affected by food insecurity and around 50 million suffer from severe hunger. The second UN warning, which we should mention from the APPAA’s perspective, refers to armed conflicts, which, in addition to all the human suffering and damage caused to the planet, aggravate the
situations of hunger and food shortages, as well as environmental problems.


On this Earth Day, the APPAA warns of the emergency of changing the simplest behaviors. By creating a mentality that is more aware of the dangers affecting humanity, we can hope to reduce the pressure it exerts on the planet.
The APAAA Board reminds us that there is only one Earth to live on. The planet is the typical home of all species that need their own habitat conditions to survive, including humans.
For this reason, the statement reminds the association that it participates and calls for participation in all actions organized by official bodies, schools, and similar associations, which aim to bring together citizens of all ages to reinforce the warnings against the use and the use and waste of consumer goods, including plastics, which contribute to the climate crisis. This warning is related to the need to defend peace, which is a fundamental and essential condition for resolving the main problems of humanity”.


“The ocean is our land.”
The Municipality of Vila Franca do Campo announced that, in association with the World Earth Day celebrations, it is organizing a photo exhibition under the motto “The Ocean is our Earth,” with the collaboration of photographers Gui Costa and Eleutério Valido.
The works can be seen in various places in the municipality, namely of Vila Franca do Campo in São Miguel island, EBI of Ponta Garça, Polivalente de Ponta Garça, EBS Armando Côrtes-Rodrigues, Mercado Agrícola Municipal and the Town Hall. Until April 24
various initiatives are taking place in response to the challenge launched by the Blue Azores program to inform and raise awareness among civil society about the importance that the ocean plays in our land, to make people aware of who lives in it, how it works, the services it provides and the problems and the problems that affect it, as well as what we can do as individuals to help protect and conserve it.


Nélia Câmara is a journalist for Atlântico Expresso -Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.