By Melissa Martin

The hanging globe we live on is another year older. “Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Mother Earth. Happy Birthday to you.” Sing along. Earth is our home. 

How old is earth? It depends on who you ask. A creationist and an evolutionist will give different answers. A scientist and a Bible scholar will give different answers. 

Who named our Earth? Its name comes from the old English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground.’ Who or what created Earth? ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void.’ The other theory is called ‘Big Bang.’

What gifts can we give to Earth; a planet that sustains our lives. Air, land, water—essential elements for the human race. Food from the soil and the sea. Oxygen from the atmosphere and the trees. Shelters with wood, rocks, bricks, marble. Precious metals and jewels are harvested from Earth. 

We can do better at protecting our Earth home. Some elementary schools support “Our Amazing Earth curriculum.” We need to teach the young how to take care of our planet. Nature is a learning playground. 

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ”—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Clean Up the World, established in 1993, is a not-for-profit, non-government apolitical event that unites communities with a common focus to protect the environment. Clean Up the World has engaged an estimated 35 million volunteers across 133 countries, making it one of the largest community-based environmental campaigns in the world. Community groups, schools, businesses, and local governments join as Members and carry out activities that address local environmental issues. By facilitating local action, Clean Up the World brings about global environmental change. www.cleanuptheworld.org.

Earth Day is April 22 of every year. April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day. www.earthday.org. Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet. 

The United National General Assembly has recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” Since the 1992 Earth Summit, safe drinking water has been made available to some 1.7 billion people around the world. The International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development,’ started on World Water Day, 22 March 2018, and will end on World Water Day, 22 March 2028.

What can you do to help our Earth in 2020? Volunteer with a cleanup group. Teach your children not to litter. WatchNational Geographic with your family and engage in ongoing conversations about our amazing planet. Checkoutwww.kids.nationalgeographic.com. Cleanup behind yourself when you visit a park. Use a reusable water bottle. Recycle ink cartridges. 

“When the last tree is cut and the last fish killed, the last river poisoned, then you will see that you can’t eat money.”—John May, The Greenpeace Story

Happy Birthday Earth! 

Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in US.