Green Global Voices on Earth Day 2008 · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Bloggers celebrated Earth Day on April 22 by posting their thoughts on what the day means, others did a roundup of articles, some shared reading lists and  others mused about climate change. In this brief roundup we get a glimpse of these blogger's views on Earth Day 2008.
Starting with Southern Africa: On the blog carbon copy, Rory wonders whether our attention on Earth Day is misdirected. He points to an article on the topic and asks…”the planet will survive – but can we?”
Juan writes on changing climates blog about the need to adapt parks to changing climates, giving the example of Etosha National park which
…just experienced major foods, perhaps biggest in 40 years, which by flooding the main plains, the feeding and drinking patters of all species are changing. Change is not necessarily bad, but it requires careful monitoring to ensure that we are doing everything to build ecosystem resilience. Some species suddenly have more water than they are used, which pushes their carrying capacity, while other species now have to hunt over more scattered herds because prey no longer has to concentrate around one specific water hole. These are new times for wild Africa, and conservation areas will need to change accordingly.
Urbansprout looks back to the history of Earth day, and considers the reasons why there weren't any local Earth Day events in South Africa. The blog also highlights the major political and economic problems pertaining to the environment.
Earth Day is a noble movement that deserves to be heard. We were contacted by a local newspaper exploring what South Africans were doing to celebrate Earth Day. Despite diligent digging, we came up with nothing, nada, which we wrote off to general apathy, lack of awareness and several inconveniences at home (load shedding, Zim crisis, embarrassing gaffs by politicians…)
But lack of a local event isn’t due to lack of concern. If anything, the world has never focussed as much on the environment as now – every corporate player and manufacturer is laying claim to their efforts to save the planet; governments and business have international environmental marketing campaigns, never mind a mere Earth Day, to blaze their green trails all over the world.
China: On the blog China Dialogue, a lecture by the Professor of sustainable development at University of British Columbia – David Suzuki is posted. The lecture argues that “We must put the ‘eco’ back in economics”
America: Tim Hurst the Ecopoliticologist wonks out with an overview of the executive orders issued by the Colorado governor, who has an ambitious environmental agenda.
Sarah Kuck of Worldchanging looks at the top stories on Earth day, making the observation that
On previous Earth Days, readers were sure to expect some startling statistics about pollution, global climate change and environmental destruction from most mainstream newspapers. But on Earth Day 2008, we at Worldchanging noticed that much of this year's coverage was different. Not because the destruction has diminished, but because our knowledge of both the problems and our relationship to them have increased. With a majority of the population aware of the problems, the focus of the articles has shifted away from defining the problem to helping people discover the solutions, or at very least eco-branded products and services portrayed as solutions.
Cascadia Brian shares some Earth Day readings on the blog ‘Its Getting Hot in Here’.
Israel: The Green prophet will be dedicating a series of posts this week to Israeli ventures and businesses that reinvent used materials. On Earth Day, Karen highlighted two online resources that encourage reuse in Israel.
Our parting shot comes from Yehuda who looks at hiking as a ‘niche activity’ in America. He contrasts this with the year long use of hiking trails by Israeli youth groups, high schools, day schools, communities, organizations, and tour groups.
So happy Earth Day. Go out and walk your land. Your country. Your planet. While you still have it.