Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1464262
2 SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2022 EARTH DAY 2022 By Jennifer McFee E arth Day offers an ideal time to raise awareness about environmental is- sues and encourage others to take action. The first Earth Day celebration took place in the United States on April 22, 1970, and to- day it's celebrated in more than 130 countries around the world. Thomas Mulcair, former NDP leader, now acts as board chair for Earth Day Canada, which aims to help individuals and organizations to re- duce their environmental impact. "As a former Environment minister and au- thor of Quebec's Sustainable Development Act, our obligation towards future generations has always been paramount for me," he says. "As I left politics in 2018, I began teaching graduate courses in environment and sustain- able development at l'Université de Montréal and joined Earth Day as board chair to continue to do my part to leave a better world to my grand- children." The 2022 theme of the Earth Day campaign focuses on eco-anxiety, an increasingly common phenomenon — particularly among young peo- ple. "The symptoms are multiple and varied: anger, frustration, fatalistic thinking, guilt, shame, depression, panic, grief, sadness, obsessive thoughts. Millions of peo- ple around the world experience the consequences of feeling helpless toward environ- mental doom. Yet most often they don't know there is a word explain- ing their condition and what to do about it," Mulcair says. "With this campaign, Earth Day Canada aims to put the focus on how we can remedy together our eco-anxiety, primarily by gathering around positive col- lective actions for the Earth and reconnecting with our power to act." Mulcair offers a few sugges- tions for marking the occasion of Earth Day, such as offering to help clean up your neighbour- hood or starting an urban agriculture project. "Organize a carpooling system with your col- leagues or encourage them to use active trans- portation with you. Plan an excursion with friends or colleagues to a local producer," he suggests. "Organize a day to pick up used clothing or objects at work and bring them to a thrift store or participate in a barter activi- ty. Invent a rainwater har- vesting system for you and your neighbours. Attend a local or virtual Earth Day event." At the same time, he shares some ideas for keeping the environmen- tal momentum going all year round. "Earth Day is a great op- portunity to take action for the environment and should serve as a springboard to continue mobilizing the rest of the year. This can involve a moment of re- flection on personal and collective objectives for the coming year: reducing food waste, adopting more energy-efficient transport habits, better sorting of waste on a daily basis or promoting a zero-waste way of life," he says. "It is also possible to create or join a citizen's committee to improve your neighbourhood, to join occasional or regular activities with a local association or non-profit organization, or to keep an eye out for events proposed by the city in this area." Cities and towns continue to be key contribu- tors towards environmental efforts, he adds. "Municipalities are at the heart of the eco- logical transition, and we are thrilled to see the commitment of so many cities through our Municipalities Mobilizing campaign since it's been launched in 2020. Cities are real catalysts of change and are the best venue for citizen action," Mulcair says. "Municipal governments have a firsthand un- derstanding of community needs and are capa- ble of greater agility to take swift concrete mea- sures, with effects that ripple well beyond local spheres. It is by taking action in our communi- ties that we will lead the ecological transition in Canada." For more information about Earth Day Canada, visit www.earthday.ca. Thomas Mulcair Counting down to Earth Day " Earth Day is a great opportunity to take action for the environment and should serve as a springboard to continue mobilizing the rest of the year." – Thomas Mulcair Board chair for Earth Day Canada The 2022 Earth Day campaign produced by the creative agency Sid Lee highlights eco-anxiety, this little-known mental health issue that is gaining traction, and the remedies to cure it together!