Earth Day 2020 Goes Online: How to Get Involved

No one expected that we’d be under lockdown orders in response to a global pandemic by the time Earth Day’s 50th anniversary rolled around, but here we are. We in the adventure travel industry often find ourselves split between two environmental worlds—in between our coveted outdoor destinations, we often use the most carbon-consumptive modes of transportation to get there and back.

Photo courtesy of The New York Public Library/Unsplash.

Let that be a spark of activism. Check out the online events and find something that speaks to you and your lifestyle. Yes, it’s about systemic change, but little victories help us hear a measure of hope in the melody of doom and gloom.

I’ll be there. I hope you’ll join me.

• A coalition of hundreds of activist organizations are convening for Earth Day Live 2020. Originally planned to be the largest climate strike in history, organizers are now hosting three days of programming sunup to sundown and an extremely long list of celebrity participants. I don’t often use this word, but if you care about climate change, this event is gonna be lit. Take a look at the programming yourself and RSVP.
• Earth Day will host a 24-hour live event on Wednesday, featuring, among others, Al Gore, whose name will pop up just about everywhere this week. It is also organizing hundreds of digital events around the world, for example, a dolphin meetup in Hawaii.
• The Earth Day Initiative kicked the week off on Sunday, April 19, with a 6-hour (!) live event that featured several panels on climate issues (Green New Deal, infectious disease, etc). What, you don’t like binge-watching environmental activism? Guests included Al Gore, Elizabeth Warren, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, among others, and you can still watch the entire thing.
• Climate Collective NYC is hosting a week of climate-related events in celebration of Earth Day 2020, including an online play.
• Speaking of Al Gore, his climate change initiative World War Zero is hosting a series of virtual town halls, one with Alex Honnold, during the days preceding Earth Day Live, of which he is taking part. The digital town halls take place Monday through Wednesday of this week. Check World War Zero for replays.

Cover image courtesy of Sony Alpha.