Black-capped Chickadee. White-throated Sparrow. Common Loon. In 1964, at just four years old, Gordon Atkins recorded his first ever bird list. “It was a bittersweet moment,” says Atkins upon discovering his old list. “But it gave me pause to reflect on my experience as a birder — from a list of common backyard birds in the Northwoods of Canada where I grew up to leading tours all over North America.”  

Since Atkin’s first list, the skies of North America have grown quieter. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, since 1970, North America has lost nearly 3 billion wild birds, largely attributed to habitat loss driven by human-driven climate change. 

Birds are especially vulnerable during migration periods. A 2024 article in the International Journal of Avian Science states that mortality during spring migration is on average 6.3 times higher than during stationary periods. Disease, exhaustion, and food shortages at critical stopover locations (associated with extreme weather and wind conditions) drive this rate up. Climate change contributes to migration dangers as well, with the Carbon Brief database noting that 77% of extreme weather events are more likely or severe because of climate change.

Based at Camp Au Sable in Grayling, Michigan, Atkins, now 66, studies gull behavior and ecology. Extreme weather events, he says, like flash floods, droughts, intense storms, and wildfires are becoming less rare and more normal. “We’re adding energy to the system. You get hotter hots, colder colds, wetter wets, and dryer dries.” And if these big storms hit during migration or nesting seasons, he notes, they can devastate bird populations.

The ring-billed gull, Atkins’s bird of study, has been migrating up to six weeks earlier in recent years. As a result, breeding and egg incubation occur much earlier than usual, exposing eggs to freezing nighttime temperatures. For the gulls, increasingly sporadic weather events dramatically reduce hatchling survival rates. In the last six years, Atkins’s gull colony has had three years of 0% breeding success, two years of moderate success, and only one year of excellent breeding. 

But ring-billed gulls are adaptable and resilient, able to adjust to new, man-made habitats even as their old stomping grounds cave to human activity. Other birds aren’t so lucky. Long distance migrators, including songsters like warblers, tanagers, and meadowlarks, are among the most impacted and least inclined to adapt their migration timelines. False springs kill insects and interrupt fruit bearing plants — food sources these exhausted migratory birds heavily depend on. Wetlands are also drying up, leaving waterfowl with fewer habitat options and at greater risk of contracting a deadly virus in the wetlands that remain. 

Hope, eBird, and Citizen Science

Experts believe there is hope in data. Since its inception in 2002, Cornell’s citizen-science platform eBird has radically altered how scientists — and the average birder — collect and understand bird data, allowing anyone to report bird sightings.

Hobbyist birders are now part of something larger, equipping scientists with mass amounts of data critical to monitor changes in migratory patterns and population sizes. Just this past May, a Science study based on eBird data found that three quarters of bird species in North America are plummeting across their ranges.

Restore Habitats with Native Plants 

Migration is by far the most stressful time in a bird’s life — even without climate change related food insecurity and deadly weather events. If you’re a birder, keep an eye out for our avian friends. You can make your own list or sign up for a citizen science effort like eBird. 

And if you’re not much for birding, there’s still plenty to be done to aid our avian friends during their long journeys across continents and oceans. In addition to climate change, the destruction of natural habitats contributes to the severe decline in bird populations. Planting native species can help, and that’s where you come in. Support the Canopy Tree Project and help Earth Day continue to plant trees and restore natural environments around the globe — for us humans, our bird friends, and every little creature in between.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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The oil stank like nothing Puff had ever smelled before. Black goop coated his body, slipping beneath his feathers and soiling his white down belly. The pale-yellow whiskers crowning his head drooped under the oil. He could not move his wings. He could not even open his beak.

A trio of humans hovered over his head. Puff trembled, but could not stop their gloved hands from picking him up from the oil-slicked beach and setting him in a small red duffle bag. Just hours before, he’d been diving with the other Tufted Puffins, lining his beak with smelt and bobbing freely on the open ocean when all of a sudden, utter darkness ate up his blue-green sea. Oil and gas had boiled up to the surface after an oil rig had torn open the seabed. At least that’s what the strange buzzing contraption next to the humans went on and on about.

“January 31st, 1969. This just in. Thousands of seabirds washed ashore Santa Barbara’s white-sand beaches. Residents reported a strong stench three days prior, likely in connection with Platform A’s recent oil spill. Eye-witnesses say the birds are soaked in oil, still alive but ill and unable to move. Death tolls remain unknown. Authorities recommend taking live birds to the Santa Barbara Zoo for care.”

The radio fizzled out before continuing:

“With their pristine beaches smothered in goop, Santa Barbara locals are left wondering why. Who will be held responsible? How will the world react? Union Oil has declined to comment.”

Puff’s rescuers lay his quivering body in the back of their rust red sedan, pressed between a western grebe and a restless common loon. Snatches of the human’s conversation drifted to him from the front seats.

“Awful situation, it is, just awful. Like a giant spilled a heaping cauldron of ink all across the beach. Oh, and the sea! Ann, the sea looked like it was boiling.”

“They say some 3,500 seabirds and marine mammals have already died, from little guys like our puffin in the trunk to sea lions and dolphins. The oil drowns the birds, you know. Swipes that water-proofing right off their feathers.”

“But we can’t lose hope, Jack. They say Nixon might be out to survey the scene. And if a disaster like this catches the president’s attention, maybe our hopes for a cleaner, healthier environment can become reality.”

Puff cocked his head. A healthier environment? Would that mean cleaner waters too? Maybe even more smelt and little squid to feed on?

Later, at the Santa Barbara Zoo, a team of kind humans scrubbed Puff down and nursed him back to health. The volunteers said almost 9,000 oil-weighted birds like him had died in the spill. They also whispered about a certain environmentally-minded Senator Nelson of Wisconsin who’d traveled to survey the damage to Santa Barbara’s famed beaches. The humans believed Nelson might signal a changing attitude in their leaders. They dreamed of a world where beaches were clear, the water pristine, and the air as sweet as honey.

For months after his recovery, fear kept Puff pinned to the Santa Barbara Zoo. He was terrified of discovering the same black goop monster haunting the shores of his beloved ocean. But when he heard tell of Nelson’s visit and of the humans rallying for his and other seabirds’ cause, he felt he had to see the action himself. So, Puff, with his stubby little wings, embarked on a grand tour across the United States.

Soaring up from California and over the Rockies, Puff dropped by the University of Colorado, Boulder. He found students and faculty alike pausing their day-to-day activities to fight for the Earth—for Puff’s Earth. Green flags dotted campus and students organized teach-ins, symposiums, rap sessions, speeches, and films. Puff could hardly believe his eyes.

Across the Great Plains and over Lake Michigan, Puff stopped in Ann Arbor where students and faculty at the University of Michigan rallied under the banner “Give Earth A Chance.” Like the Coloradans, the Michiganders meant business. As pioneers of the teach-in format, Michigan’s organizers’ attracted over 50,000 attendees across 125 seminars, panels, rallies, and other events, paying special attention to ecological issues in the Great Lakes and the impact of war on the environment.

The buzz about the environment flew faster than Puff could keep up with. The humans came to call the movement Earth Day, and apparently, events spanned the entire nation. Puff even heard that activists down in Miami staged a parody Orange Bowl parade called the “Dead Orange Parade,” featuring the Statue of Liberty decked out in a gas mask.

All the commotion struck a chord in Puff’s heart. Returning to Santa Barbara later that year, he learned that volunteers from the University of California Santa Barbara had recovered 1,800 barrels of skimmed oil from his home seas. Puff swelled with pride. The future of Puff’s home seemed bright—humans and their fellow animals might still save their Mother Earth.

Like Puff, it’s important to keep our hopes and passions alive even when our world turns upside down. Whether it be fossil fuel companies polluting our seas or world leaders ignoring scientists’ pleas for swift climate action, know that you can’t and aren’t expected to control the whole world. Take a breath, recenter, and like Puff, get out there and find those little ways you can make a difference for our planet.

Join Climate Education and follow in the footsteps of the activists who grabbed the world’s attention with teach-ins after the Santa Barbara oil spill. Small changes can and will make a difference.

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Pulitzer prize winning poet Mary Oliver got her start in the woods, fiddling with miniature twig and grass huts. In the forest surrounding her childhood home in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, hands muddied and hair no doubt strewn with leaves and sticks, Oliver encountered her beloved Mother Nature and wrote her very first poems. It was in these woods that Oliver discovered a lifelong love.

Across time immemorial, humble moments in connection with nature, like that of child Oliver in an Ohioan forest, have inspired impassioned artwork. From ancient China to the streets of Harlem, New York, poets across the globe have centered landscape, water, and flora and fauna in their writings. For instance, Wang Wei (701-761 C.E.) transformed tranquil Chinese landscapes into poems that resonated beyond the page. Langston Hughes (1901-1967 C.E.) wrote of rivers older than the blood in human veins, and his soul which had “grown deep like rivers.” Both found balance and expression in nature.

In a world harried by deforestation, fossil fuel giants, and man-made droughts and famines, it’s important to find moments of quietude to recalibrate, especially in stoic forests, rivers, and bright meadows. Like Oliver, let us sink into the surrounding landscape to escape our difficult earthly homes. That’s why for National Poetry Month, I’d like to invite you to explore the little occurrences of nature in poetry, and step for a moment onto the thin membrane separating humans from our brother animals.

Romanticizing Nature with the Romantics

What we know today as environmentalism was produced by Romanticism. Developed as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment, Romantics believed science cleft a great divide between humankind and the natural world. They viewed nature as sacred and uplifting rather than something to be wielded for human interest. Nature needed to be preserved, not degraded. Artists and poets like Wordsworth communicated the awesome beauty of the natural world to their audiences in the hopes of offering an alternative to ordered Enlightenment thought.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a foundational Romantic English poet concerned about human relationships with nature. He spent his childhood in a rural paradise along the Derwent River in Derbyshire, England which featured prominently in passages in his poetry book The Prelude. Wordsworth believed the “dreary intercourse of daily life” in urban areas dampened efforts to elevate the mind, as poets attempt to do in their art. He believed, however, that nature could prevail over superficial city life.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) acted as Wordsworth’s sometimes partner in crime. The pair co-wrote the book Lyrical Ballads together and often traveled together, from a summer’s tour of Scotland to a brutal winter snowed-in in Germany. Coleridge and Wordsworth, both fascinated by nature, cemented the burgeoning Romantic movement in history. And Coleridge, like Wordsworth, left wonderful, nature-centered poems behind for generations to come:

Transcending Society with the Transcendentalists

Coinciding with the end of the Romantic movement, the Transcendental movement centered nature and the individual. Famous transcendentalists included writers and philosophers like David Henry Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Amos Bronson Alcott. They urged people against blindly conforming to society, pointing instead towards finding “an original relation to the universe.”

For both Emerson and Thoreau, this meant spending time alone in nature and with their writings. Near the tailend of the movement, many transcendentalists were engaged in social experiments and founded alternative nature-centered lifestyles and societies like Fruitlands, Brook Farm, and Thoreau’s cabin in Walden. Brook Farm, the most famous of the three, was a utopian experiment that lasted only six and a half years. Though the community’s population grew and its school drew prominent New Englanders’ children, shaky finances eventually led the community to close its gates.

Transcendentalists’ close relationships with nature and individualism over social conformity also bore powerful social critiques. They spurned the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans, the ongoing war with Mexico, and above all, American slavery. Emerson wrote a scathing critique of the treatment of Native Americans to President Martin Van Buren in 1838. He had this to say of the trail of tears:

Poetry Still Packs a Punch Today

Drawing on both the Romantic and Transcendental traditions, poets of today’s era have combined a deep appreciation for nature with urgent warnings on social issues — namely, the climate crisis. In their ballads for nature, from Oliver’s hymn-like poem “When I Am Among The Trees” to Ada Límon’s poetry book You Are Here, writers across the world still find solace, peace, and hope in their natural environments.

Environmental crises such as floods, drought, increasingly frequent natural disasters, and polluted air and water make those still beautiful nooks of nature all the more precious. Still, poets are critical witnesses with powerful voices tuned to cry out as the environment erodes. Poets like Joan Naviyuk Kane, who contend daily with environmental, social, and political threats to her homeland in the Arctic, confront these threats directly in their work:

Join Other Artists in the Fight for Mother Earth

Art expresses a wide range of emotions that might otherwise be difficult for someone to voice. Whether through painting, sketching, sculpting, writing, or poetry, I believe we all have a gift to share with the world — and for a good cause. With enough love and encouragement, the poet inside you can awaken in defense of the Earth too.

If Kane or Oliver or Frost’s passionate words moved you, I invite you to sign up to be an Artist for the Earth. Art builds community and community powers change. Combine environmental art with social and political advocacy in your preferred artform and share it with those around you. The time to act is now, and what more powerful way to inspire other people’s hearts to change the world than through the lyrical stanzas of poetry.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Have you ever heard of forest bathing? Originating in Japan under the name “shinrin-yoku,” the practice involves immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest and honing in on the rustle of pine needles, the sunbeams leaking through the canopy, or the sweet scent of sap oozing from tree trunks. It encourages mindfulness and promotes relaxation. Shinrin-yoku may even improve your physical health. But you don’t need to go forest bathing to realize the benefits of green space.

If you live in a city, you might be lucky enough to have access to a park or to tree-lined streets. These oases of green canopy dotting the concrete jungle may be the only contact with nature you have on a daily basis. Thankfully, any access to green space has benefits. Data shows that even in small numbers, the presence of trees in urban centers boasts incredible benefits, from more successful business districts to energy savings and even better sleep. More importantly, access to trees may support longer, healthier lives.

In other words, if you’re looking for the fountain of youth or the elixir of life, finding the closest tree might be the best thing you can do. Let’s look at why trees matter so much to our wellbeing, who has access to green space, and what we can do to expand our urban tree cover.

Long Live the Trees (and Me!)

Studies show that tree cover in cities may boost longevity. In particular, a 2022 study found that increasing urban tree cover by 10% led to significant decreases in heat-related mortality, with Phoenix in particular benefiting from an estimated 22% reduction in heat-related mortality. Trees improve air quality, provide shade and aesthetic value, and even encourage increased physical activity. They also mitigate pollutant- and heat-induced stress, directly impacting the physical and mental well-being of humans living nearby.

There is also evidence that spending time around trees reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and can improve mood. Other studies have shown that simply viewing nature, such as trees from a hospital window, can speed up recovery time. And we know that trees release volatile essential oils known as phytoncides, which boost human immune systems by increasing natural killer cell activity. In other words, proximity to green space helps us live longer, healthier lives by reducing mortality rates. 

Our Grand Green Guards

Urban tree cover has a lot to offer, from stormwater management to removing street-level air pollution and boosting business in shopping districts. Proximity to canopies in cities may even increase worker productivity and decrease absenteeism.

Urban centers trap heat at a higher rate than surrounding rural landscapes. And since 80% of Americans live in urban areas, that means a lot of people are at risk during extreme heat. Thankfully, tree cover in cities offers a simple and highly effective solution. Urban trees are widely accepted as one of the most effective ways to alleviate heat islands, lowering ambient temperatures as much as 20-45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Compared with other terrestrial surfaces, areas with vegetation such as trees are more successful at capturing gases and aerosols from the atmosphere. For cities dealing with smog or other forms of heavy air pollution, trees and shrubs serve as effective pollutant-containing sinks. 

Take Detroit as an example. In honor of Earth Day 2025, the nonprofits Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and Arboretum Detroit collaborated to plant giant Sequoia saplings in empty plots on Detroit’s East Side. With 100 more saplings planted that April, volunteers expanded the humble 20 tree forest first planted in 2020 and 2021. The project aimed not only to improve local air quality but to preserve these native Californian trees from threatening wildfires on the West Coast. 

Freetown, Sierra Leone is also undergoing reforestation efforts. To tackle a declining canopy as the city sprawls into surrounding mountains and forests, the Freetown City Council launched #FreetowntheTreetown. The initiative encourages local citizens to track trees they plant and monitor young saplings through the TreeTracker app and receive micropayments for their work. After achieving their first goal of 1 million trees planted, Freetown has set their sights on planting 5 million trees by 2030. So far, the project has created 5,000 community jobs, 17 new watersheds, and restored 1,200 hectares of urban land.

Equal Access Now!

Unfortunately, access to tree canopy in U.S. cities is unequal. In 2021, majority-Black and Brown neighborhoods enjoyed 33% less tree cover than majority-white neighborhoods, meaning fewer trees in neighborhood plots, lining the sidewalks, or in nearby parks and green spaces. On top of racial disparities, neighborhoods with high poverty rates had 41% less tree cover than wealthier neighborhoods.

Disparities in access have to do with historic patterns of redlining, or the systematic denial of mortgages, loans, and other financial services on the basis of racial or ethnic grounds. These systems remain rooted in place today and influence neighborhood access to clean water and air, grocery stores options, and even green space!

Unequal access to urban green space means not everyone gets to enjoy the benefits of living near trees. One national survey found that, on average, poorer and non-white neighborhoods averaged 15.2% less tree cover and had on average 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter summer surface temperatures. The analysis of survey data showed that, because they had less tree cover, majority non-white neighborhoods had a higher risk for heat-related health problems and higher electrical power consumption. 

American Forests offers a tree equity tool to map coverage across cities and attests to these inequities. Considering disinvested communities undeniably face more day-to-day stress as a result of socioeconomic and/or racial status, one solution to improving well-being may be planting more trees in disenfranchised neighborhoods. One study estimated that adding an ambitious 1.2 billion trees across 100 sample cities nationwide would reduce summer surface temperatures by as much as 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.24 degrees Fahrenheit) and prevent around 450 heat-related deaths each year.

The Canopy Tree Project

Lucky for you, it’s easy to get involved in reforestation efforts, even in cities! EARTHDAY.ORG’s campaign Canopy Tree Project restores and reforests vulnerable climate areas around the world. The campaign’s goals include planting 60 million trees by 2030 and one billion by 2060. Donate to the campaign and help us plant trees where they’re needed most.

Craving more fascinating stories about trees? Browse through our Canopy Tree Project articles.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Internationally recognized in 2014, World NGO Day honors global non-profit organizations as powerful guiding forces advancing the rights of marginalized people everywhere. NGOs serve the people; when minority voices are drowned out, NGOs speak up. When drought and famine threaten families, NGOs facilitate donations and relief. And when an impending climate crisis knocks on Earth’s door, environmental organizations like EARTHDAY.ORG answer the call for change.

Let’s take a step back and trace EARTHDAY.ORG from its infancy and the very first Earth Day to the global nonprofit it has become.

The Oil Spill that Sparked Environmental Awareness

Leading up to the birth of the first Earth Day, the average American wasn’t aware that the leaded gas of automobiles, smoke and sludge from industry pipes, and raw sewage and chemicals in public waters were harming their environment and health. Smog clouding skyscrapers in cities like Los Angeles contained airborne pollutants such as lead and ozone which can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and premature death. It wasn’t until after Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring connected pesticides with public health and the environment that Americans began to wake up and connect the dots: the very industries people relied on or worked for were poisoning them.

In January 1969, fourteen months before the first Earth Day, a massive oil spill devastated the coasts of Santa Barbara, California. Images of oil soaked birds, surfboards, and blackened coastlines popped up in newspapers and on televisions across the country, exposing the devastating effects of fossil fuel disasters. Union Oil had persuaded the government to grant the company a waiver to bypass environmental protection requirements. Less than two weeks into drilling, a buildup of pressure prompted a blowout of almost 3 million gallons of oil. That’s enough oil to fill 4.5 Olympic swimming pools!

Senator Gaylord Nelson, one of the founders of Earth Day, visited the spill site and surveyed the damage. Later, as Nelson reflected on the oil spill disaster while on a plane to Berkeley, he read about anti-war student protests and teach-ins. Inspiration struck him like a bolt of lightning and Nelson founded a non-profit organization called “Earth Day” to organize his own protests and teach-ins centered on the environment.

The Roots of Change

From day one, the Earth Day movement has embraced grassroots organizing as a tool to put people first. Senator Nelson recruited activist and 25-year-old Stanford graduate Dennis Hayes to help organize campus teach-ins and scale his idea across the country. To maximize student participation, Nelson and Hayes chose April 22, a day between Spring Break and finals. 

Hayes built a national staff and spread the word with grassroots tactics. He sent organizers to college campuses, civic groups, newspapers, and community organizations to garner support. One of Hayes’ greatest supporters was the United Auto Workers who printed newsletters and covered Hayes’ and Nelson’s fledgling organization’s postage.

Soon, a wide array of organizations and faith groups joined together under the Earth Day banner. The name “Earth Day” spread like wildfire and caught widespread media attention. That very first Earth Day, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets to fight against the industries polluting the environment and endangering human health. 

The genius of Nelson’s and Hayes’ vision for Earth Day lay in the event’s inclusivity. One of the first people recruited by Nelson to the non-profit was conservation-minded Republican Pete McCloskey. Left-leaning thinkers saw the conservative area of Santa Barbara band together behind the environmental movement and decided to join too. They hoped the movement would evolve into a larger critique of American society. 

With both sides of the aisle banding together to protect both people and the environment, their fight quickly produced results. In 1970, a year after the oil spill, bipartisan efforts paved the way for President Richard Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency, an agency designed to respond to future contamination disasters.

Bipartisan efforts created the first Earth Day. Democrats, conservatives, middle-class women, students, and scientists came together to demonstrate for the environment. More than 1,500 teach-ins took place nationwide, including speakers, performances, and workshops. At the University of Michigan, Senator Nelson himself spoke, and workshops ranged from “spiritual perspectives on the environment” to a computer simulation of urban growth.

Earth Day helped birth the environmental movement.

Snapshots of Evolution

The next decades capped a number of achievements for the environment, at home and abroad. The United States passed substantial environmental regulation including the Toxic Substances Control Act (1976), the Hazardous and Solid Wastes Amendment (1984), and the Clean Air Amendments (1977, 1990). These regulations aimed to tighten U.S. environmental policies by regulating the presence of toxic substances in food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides, governing the disposal of solid waste, and reducing air and water pollution. In 1987, all U.N. member states signed the Montreal Proclamation, marking a global commitment to protect the ozone layer.

The ’90s brought true international expansion. Earth Day mobilized over 200 million people in 141 countries to spotlight environmental issues around the world. The movement also helped pave the way for the first United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Summit aimed to develop a fresh blueprint for international action on environmental and development issues to guide international cooperation in the 21st century. 

From the 2000s on, Earth Day grew in leaps and bounds. Earth Day 2000 events included a talking drum chain in Gabon and major protests at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In 2016, the U.N. chose Earth Day to sign the Paris Agreement, the most important climate accord in the environmental movement’s history. Even during COVID-19, when activists could not come together in person, Earth Day mobilized over 1 billion people online for a three-day commemorative livestream of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary. And the Earth Day movement is still going strong.

Earth Day Today

EARTHDAY.ORG has evolved into a global network consisting of volunteers, dedicated initiatives, and a robust communications team. 

One such volunteer is Bella Kagisa from Tanzania. She grew up planting trees and flowers with her father. As a child, she loved getting to know different species of plants by their biological and Swahili names. Inspired by her father’s legacy, Kagisa is now an environmental scientist, working as an ambassador for the environment and encouraging others to get involved and plant trees.

While individual volunteers support our mission locally, EARTHDAY.ORG’s global initiatives also address a spectrum of environmental issues. The Canopy Tree Project combats deforestation as well as bolstering local communities with education and economic benefits. The Climate Education campaign promotes robust climate education through school curricula, advocacy packets, and toolkits designed to empower informed decision-making and civic engagement. The Great Global Cleanup aims to connect cleanup initiatives across the world working to rid the world of waste and plastic pollution.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s hardworking communications team ties the movement and all its floating pieces together. Whether through inspirational posts on LinkedIn, aesthetic snapshots on Instagram or Facebook, or powerful statements on X, there’s a little spark of Earth-centered joy for everyone. EARTHDAY.ORG also stays up to date with news and stories, from eco-friendly Valentines day gift ideas to spotlighting the latest in biodegradable batteries — say hi to Ziggy! Want these delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for email alerts here.

This World NGO Day, EARTHDAY.ORG wants to say thank you for adding your voice to the fight for our planet. People power meaningful change. EARTHDAY.ORG exists to speak up and act for everyone concerned about the environment, and we will continue to stand tall for planet Earth in years to come — all thanks to you.You can be a part of EARTHDAY.ORG’s legacy by donating today. Can’t give? Check out our 50 Earth Day Tips and make sure to sign up for updates on Earth Day 2026.

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The word “wetlands” usually conjures up images of water-logged marshes humming with frogs and insects, complete with patches of reeds and short, gnarled trees along the banks. Think back to your childhood; did you grow up near a pond or lake, dodge  your parents’ warnings in soggy bullrush groves, catch frogs, or fish for trout and perch?  Even if none of those scenarios stirred your memory, chances are you’ve seen or been near (or even in!) wetlands at some point in your life. As you mucked through those waters, eyeing black birds or turtles, did you realize just how precious those ecosystems were? Well, in celebration of World Wetlands Day, prepare to get your boots muddy!

Wetlands are water-dominated ecosystems with a wealth of diverse animal and plant life. Although they cover less than 10% of Earth’s surface, almost 40% of all plants and animals live or breed in wetlands. According to a broader definition provided by the U.N., wetlands may include all freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems, from lakes and rivers to coral reefs and underground aquifers to the humble marsh or swamp. 

Wetland ecosystems benefit and protect animals, plants, and humans. For the 60% of humans living near large bodies of water, wetlands provide key buffering zones along the coasts to protect us from flooding and absorb storm impacts. They also act as natural water filters, improving water quality for humans and wildlife by removing pollutants, sediment, and other waste. 

Unfortunately, for much of history, wetlands have been places to be avoided. Wetlands were treated as wasteland for people to drain, fill in, or dump waste into. In just the last 300 years, 87% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared, in part due to rising sea levels and human-led habitat destruction. And, as a result of climate change, remaining wetland ecosystems are grappling with harmful algae blooms. 

What Are Harmful Algae Blooms?

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) happen when colonies of algae expand out of control, resulting in toxic or harmful effects on surrounding wildlife and human beings. When blooms decompose, algae-eating microbes use extra oxygen while consuming them, leading to oxygen dead zones and marine animal die-offs. For instance, in 2020, masses of dead sea creatures washed up on beaches near Kamchatka. Initially believed to be the result of petroleum pollution, scientists later blamed a massive algae bloom, some several kilometers wide, off the coast.

“Red Ghosts” in China

On the southern coast of China, “red tides” of the algae Phaeocystis globosa blanket beaches. Known locally as the “red ghost,” P. globosa hit hard during the summer of 2025, with local officials warning people against visiting affected areas or consuming seafood from impacted regions for fear of illness. The dense algae also threatened to clog local power plants, shutting down generators and clogging cooling pipes. For marine life, rapidly depleting oxygen levels in and around the bloom increased risks of hypoxia or oxygen deficiency in the body. This often leads to mass marine die-offs.

The first documented harmful algae bloom in China occurred in 1933. Since 1980, HABs have increased exponentially: between 2014 and 2023, China recorded an average of 50 annual red tides. Thankfully, mitigation techniques like modified clay approaches which activate clay with elements like aluminum to absorb algal cells, have been used to deal with sudden blooms. While modified clay approaches are both highly effective and environmentally friendly, they have historically been expensive to produce. 

Poison in the Great Lakes 

While red ghosts haunt China, blue-green ghosts plague the Great Lakes in North America. Cyanobacteria blooms are now annual occurrences around the Great Lakes, especially in Lake Erie. Its depth and geography make it particularly vulnerable to harmful algae blooms. Bloom-induced oxygen dead zones tend to remain for months on end due to Erie’s stratification, or the tendency of the water to divide into distinct layers based on varying temperature and density.

Lake Erie’s recurring blue-green ghosts threaten the health and drinking water of nearly 11 million people. Communities in the area worry about access to unpolluted drinking water, harm to the region’s tourism industry, and whether or not they’ll be able to enjoy boating and swimming on the lake each summer.

One of the biggest contributors to Lake Erie’s algae blooms is fertilizer and manure runoff pollution from local farms and industry. This boatload of nutrients feeds harmful blooms, turning them into expansive monsters that threaten the quality of life of both humans and wildlife.

An Algae-clogged South African Reservoir

Between 2022 and 2023, NASA recorded images of harmful algae blooms at the Hartbeespoort Dam in South Africa. The reservoir is primarily used for irrigation and recreation, but swimming in HAB-infested waters may leave rashes on humans, while pets who drink the water may get sick and die. Accidentally swallowing infected water leads to a host of symptoms including stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle weakness, dizziness, and liver damage. Pets face more severe symptoms like seizures and difficulty breathing.

The marine life of Hartbeespoort Dam suffered too. In 2023, decreased levels of oxygen in the Hartbeespoort Dam due to harmful algae blooms contributed to mass fish die-offs.

Trends over time revealed key factors in algae bloom frequency and severity: algal growth was more severe near the western side of the reservoir due to golf course runoff and reduced water circulation. After high phosphorus levels in the early 1980s caused massive blooms, a bioremediation program—an environmentally friendly control system to reduce algae—was introduced to mitigate algae blooms. However, funding cuts decimated the program and algae blooms spiked again in the 2000s. Similar initiatives to control algae blooms are used around the world, from experimental seaweed biological control methods in Japan and the USA to deep-water upwelling in Norway, Chile, and Australia.

Report and Protect Your Community From Ghosts!

Our wetlands are precious and deserve our respect and protection. While wider issues stemming from anthropogenic climate change, habitat destruction, and uncaring world leaders may seem overwhelming, there are smaller steps individuals can take to help mitigate wetland damage. 

Try using phosphate-free detergents, refrain from flushing medications or chemicals, ensure pet waste is cleared, and that your lawn is kept at least 3-4 inches in length to avoid excessive runoff. If you notice a suspicious algae bloom, report it to your local environmental department by calling their number.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Project is another way to get involved. Reforestation is an excellent way to give back to nature, providing more roots and biomass to absorb excess nutrient runoff and protect our wetland ecosystems. By donating to the Canopy Project, you’re helping to plant trees and protect waterways, from Dallas, Texas to Madagascar.

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Seizing the day often starts with a cozy mug of hot, steaming caffeine. Picture this; the winter sun’s rays slant through the coffee shop’s windows, warming your back as you gaze up at the black chalk board perched above the espresso machine and your tattooed barista’s head. The tantalizing options range from the season’s pumpkin pie latté to the shot-in-the-dark undertow to good ol’ black coffee. Today, though, you’re looking for something a little different. 

You’ve read the news and know coffee is linked to climate change, not just as a casualty of changing weather patterns, but as a contributor to the climate crisis itself. The crop that fuels mornings around the world depends on a delicate balance of temperature and rainfall, one that’s rapidly being disrupted. As the planet warms, the regions suitable for growing coffee are shrinking, pests are spreading, and harvests are becoming less reliable. At the same time, coffee farming itself—through deforestation, fertilizer use, and global transport, adds to the very problem threatening its future.

So should we be thinking about drinking tea instead?

Tea is Already Hugely Popular Across the Globe

As one of the most consumed beverages in the world in 2022 — second only to water — tea’s legacy extends back as far as 2700 BCE in ancient China. Legend has it that the second emperor of China, Shen Nung, discovered tea after a stray tea leaf drifted into his cup of hot water after supper. He enjoyed the flavor and the relief it brought his post-meal discomfort. In India, stories recall how the Buddha chewed tea leaves during the fifth year of a seven year sleepless meditation to relieve fatigue.

Since that time, tea (Camellia sinensis orCamellia assamica) has been valued for its therapeutic properties and health benefits. It also quickly became a staple in cultural ceremonies. Buddhist monks brought tea to other parts of Asia, and in Japan, tea was quickly developed into an art form. 

The 16th century Japanese monk Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591 CE) shaped the tea ceremony into the genteel and subdued experience it is today in Japan. Complete with intimate tea rooms, well-groomed gardens, and perfect flower arrangements, the tea ceremony transcended the cup and moved into the world of politics. Warlords and diplomats used the ceremony during political encounters and gifted favored underlings prized porcelain bowls.

European powers taste for tea developed during 15th century colonial expeditions and intercontinental trade.  The two words for tea —  pronounced “te” or “cha” — originate from the same Chinese hieroglyph, and varied from province to province. Thus, the British, Dutch, and Italians who traded with “te” pronouncing provinces adopted the word “te” while Portugal, trading from the port Macau, adopted “cha.” 

Today, tea is a key socioeconomic staple (a primary export a region produces) in countries like China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. It is considered a poverty relief crop, with 60% of global tea output in 2022 coming from smallholder farmers and farming households. 

Unfortunately, tea is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, with its growth, quality, and yield each sensitive to minute changes in temperature, precipitation, and soil health. Climate crises like droughts, heatwaves, and erratic rainfall have disrupted tea production, potentially impacting millions of smallholder farmers across the globe.

And, with an estimated 3.7 billion cups drunk everyday around the world, demand for tea isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

The Matcha Meltdown

Everyone’s favorite punch of powdered green tea isn’t an exception. As demand skyrockets in places like the United States, Germany, and Dubai, suppliers are struggling to keep up. Tencha — the tea leaves which are processed into matcha — withers under extreme heat conditions, damaging bushes and weakening yields. Hotter weather also means increased risks of fungal and bacterial infections and disease.

In Japan’s Kyoto region, a region which accounts for a quarter of the nation’s high quality tencha production, yields dropped considerably, with one farmer, Masahiro Yoshida noting his 2024 summer yield had shrunk by 25%.

Rescuing Rooibos

As the national beverage of South Africa, rooibos tea holds cultural significance. In 2021, the European Union registered rooibos in the protected designation of origin (PDO) register, meaning only rooibos grown in the Cederberg region can be legally called rooibos. Yet, as climate change alters the Cederberg region’s local climate, rooibos may not be able to adapt. The plant’s ecological specificity and superficial root system make it especially vulnerable to climate change. And, without the Cederberg region, rooibos, at least under EU legal status, may go extinct.

Rich, nutty South-African rooibos is also a battleground for the environment. Grown exclusively in the Cederberg region of South-Africa, this tea is extremely sensitive to its environment, requiring acid sand soil and a narrow range of climate conditions. A 2025 study observed rooibos’ vulnerability to climate change, noting that warmer weather conditions led to unusually high rainfall and water-logged soil,  conditions which may lead to mortality in rooibos plants. Low rainfall also impacts rooibos, in 2023 alone, harvest volume dropped by 17% due to reduced rainfall. 

How Can You Help?

Modern cultivation practices tend to value short-term yield over long-term ecological health, straining the environment. Poor tea farming contributes to water pollution, soil erosion, and disrupts local ecosystems. 

But tea cultivation can be achieved sustainably and you don’t have to be a tea farmer to contribute. Buying organic teas bypasses pesticides and harmful synthetic chemicals which pollute the soil and supporting fair trade tea goes hand-in-hand with promoting ethical environmental practices. By empowering tea workers with fair wages, safe working conditions, and social benefits, tea-growing communities are positioned to become stewards of the land. 

For the everyday consumer, choosing ethically sourced and environmentally friendly tea matters. People and the planet are interconnected, and in supporting one another, we all move towards a more just future. Changing our habits means investing in our planet — taking those critical steps towards a brighter, tea-infused tomorrow. 

And hey, if coffee’s still more your vibe, I’ve got just the ethical coffee article for you.

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Pop quiz! See if you can name the five famous figures described below:

A Grammy award winning superstar with “Ocean Eyes.” A migrant rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. A legendary F-1 racer with the words “Still I Rise” tattooed across his back. A Swedish environmental and human rights activist bent on meaningful action over words. A popstar-actress stunning audiences in her most recent performance as Glinda in a film adaptation of Wicked.

What do these giants of the 20th and 21st centuries have in common? I’ll give you a hint: it has everything to do with fruits and veggies and nothing to do with meat. They are all vegans!

For those in need of a refresh, veganism is a spectrum of animal-product abstinence, ranging from those who don’t consume meat, eggs, and dairy-products to those who also avoid honey, leather, and any animal-tested products from their lives. Generally, vegans try to avoid exploiting animals for any purpose, including in their diets but also through entertainment — some vegans avoid zoos, aquariums and any form of ‘safari’ or marine parks that force animals to perform. 

In terms of benefits, a vegan diet comes with decreased risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and lower LDL-C cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

On a societal level, if more of us went vegan it would dramatically reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with animal farming — from clearing forests for pasture to the production of animal feed and especially reducing the methane emission and waste from cows, pigs, chickens, and other farmed animals. A single cow produces between 154 to 264 pounds of methane gas every year, collectively the world’s 1.5 billion cattle, raised specifically for meat,  release 231 billion pounds of methane  into the atmosphere each year. 

As World Vegan month marches on this November, let’s explore some of the most influential vegan figures of the last couple of decades, from activists to athletes to singers. Each one has found something meaningful in their animal-free diets and each one touts the benefits, either for health reasons, out of environmental concern, or from a deep-seated love for our fellow animals.

On Tour & Beyond: Billie Eilish

Singer-songwriter and outcast anthem queen Billie Eilish refuses to shy away from taboo topics — including those around body image and diet. The 23-year-old popstar grew up in a vegetarian household and eventually initially switched to a vegan diet over body insecurities. However, her beliefs deepened once she learned about the animal cruelty rampant in the dairy industry.

On her 2024-25 tour for the album Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie has requested that arenas serve plant-based options. At the O2 Arena in London, the menu featured vegan chipotle tacos, peri-peri halloumi wraps, and corn naan. Additionally, Billie advocates for sustainable venue practices, encouraging fans to bring reusable water bottles and selling merchandise made from recycled cotton.

From the Farm: César Chávez

Founder of the National Farm Workers Association (now the United Farm Workers), César Chávez worked tirelessly for the rights of farm and migrant workers. Made famous by his powerful leadership and nonviolent tactics, Chávez participated in the Delano Grape strike and the 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento in 1966.

And Chávez didn’t just fight for human rights. He took compassion and nonviolence to their logical next step: animal rights.

For the last 25 years of his life, Chávez was a dedicated vegan and took pride in converting friends and family to plant-based diets. He called for the end of animal exploitation, just as he had for workers in his early life.

Athletes Galore! Lewis Hamilton

Legendary British F-1 racer Sir Lewis Hamilton has the respect of every one of his peers. He’s risen to the top of the all-time pole positions list, surpassing even his idol Ayrton Senna. From his rookie performance in 2007 to his seventh Formula-1 championship, Hamilton consistently outperforms expectations, reaching for the top. And, he credits much of his success to his vegan diet.

Hamilton went vegan in 2017 out of concern for the environment, citing animal cruelty and pollution. He says his diet keeps him in peak physical condition. For those interested in following his lead, Hamilton recommends a gradual transition rather than full-throttle veganism. “Don’t go hard,” he says. “Because it is hard. You’ve just got to taper things off.” After switching, the racer discovered a love of vegan pancakes and avocado toast.

An Activist’s Stance: Greta Thunberg

From the her beginnings outside of the Swedish parliament holding a cardboard sign emblazoned with the words “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (school strike for the climate) to her numerous attempts to reach Palestine with humanitarian aid, social and environmental activist Greta Thunberg has cemented herself as an outspoken proponent of human and planetary rights. And her dedication to the environment isn’t confined to her public life.

Thunberg went vegan in 2013 at the age of 10. In 2012, she collaborated with vegan charity Mercy for Animals in the short film For Nature which explores the ecological costs of animal farming on biodiversity, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions.

From the Stage: Ariana Grande

One of the quintessential pop stars of her generation, vocal powerhouse Ariana Grande has packed her career with awards and chart records, building an iconic and instantly recognizable image. And, a part of that famous image involves advocating for animal rights and a plant-based diet.

Grande went vegan in 2013, curbing her junk-food diet to lose weight and find confidence in her body image. Beyond her own health and happiness, the singer is very vocal about animal product consumption and animal rights. In an interview with Viva!, Grande said she didn’t think humans should be drinking milk from cows. In November 2020, she founded Orange Twins Rescue, a Los Angeles based nonprofit that gives abandoned animals a second chance.

Taking Inspiration from Our Idols

Veganism isn’t exclusive to celebrities and activists. Like Billie and Ariana, a plant-based diet may help you feel happier, healthier, and more positive about your body. Like Lewis, you might find yourself with more energy and fewer allergies. Or, like Greta and César, the fight for animal rights may push you to make a difference within your own life and diet. Whatever the case, there are options out there to begin a sustainable vegan transition. 

If you want to learn more about how the cattle industry and predatory fishing is impacting the Brazilian rainforest and mangroves – please watch our brand new series UNDERREPORTED EARTH – “TREE TALES”– IG TRAIL.  Tracy McVeigh from The Guardian speaks with three top investigative journalists about their groundbreaking reporting: Elisangela Mendonça uncovers how the Amazon rainforest is being threatened by the beef and related bovine collagen industry. Josephine Moulds takes us into the Congo Basin, where fossil fuel auctions are endangering one of the world’s most vital forest ecosystems. Ana Bottallo travels deep into the Amazonian mangroves to witness how local communities fought to protect their forests from predatory fishing  — and to have their voices heard.

The episodes go live November 17/18th/19th across EARTHDAY.ORG social media  on Facebook: Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3   and YouTube:  Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3.Remember plant-based diets are one of the most effective ways to fight climate-change in your own life. Meatless Mondays or Veganuary are structured time periods to try animal-free diets without jumping straight into a full-on diet change. For more information on food and regenerative agriculture, click here. Find more information on the history of veganism here.

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Have you ever asked Siri to tell you what the weather will be like later on in the day because you need to know if it is safe to plan a winter BBQ for your Mom’s surprise birthday party? Or to find the nearest grocery store selling that specific brand of vegan chicken nuggets that your kids love? Or to tell you in one sentence how Charles Darwin changed our understanding of the natural world?

Underneath your phone’s sleek, polished aluminum shell lies a world of information waiting to be explored, from the twisting jungles of Reddit and Tattle to the loneliest nooks of Google Scholar to the life and soul of the party that is Wikipedia. 

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), this world of information has just become even more complicated. AI has been heralded as a glorious future of amplified human innovation, a sort of digital demigod that one day soon, we will all come to rely on.

What Has This Got to Do With Environmentalism?

In the environmental sphere, one of the most urgent questions is how to weigh AI’s promise against its costs. Even as it devours water and electricity resources and often exploits workers in the Global South, some environmentalists believe the revolutionary technology can be used in the adaptation battle with climate change. 

November 6, 2025 marked the beginning of the 30th annual United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP30) summit in Belém, Pará, Brazil, bringing together world leaders, scientists, non-governmental organizations, and civil society from around the world to address climate priorities. 

Given COP30’s location in the Amazon, protecting the world’s forests will be central to discussions, highlighting their critical role in biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, and climate resilience. But this year’s other major agenda pillars include: transitioning energy and industry, stewarding biodiversity, transforming food systems, building climate resilience in urban areas, fostering human development, and leveraging cross-cutting accelerators like technology. One of these potential cross-cutting accelerators under examination is AI. 

The AI Climate Academy, is a pre-conference workshop that aims to “bring together decision-makers from multiple sectors for an intensive immersion into the responsible uses of artificial intelligence to address climate change”. The Academy will gather a diverse group of decision-makers, governments, philanthropic foundations, NGOs, the private sector, and academia, for an intensive immersion centered around the responsible usage of AI to address climate change

Their workshops are aimed at building technical capacity and supporting local innovation in developing countries, to equip individuals and institutions with the knowledge and ability to use AI for climate equity. The curriculum is focused on how AI can be applied ethically, effectively, and with the end goal of mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis. The group’s results will be presented during COP30.

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, says that AI could boost efficiency and human capacity rather than replacing it.

Can AI Help Us Manage The Climate Crisis?

AI can help make talking about climate change easier. Each year, COP negotiators are expected to juggle 120+ agenda items, hundreds if not thousands of hours of talks, and over 100,000 pages of submissions. On top of that, they must handle disagreements and conflicting priorities within their own teams or countries.

To combat this, Brazil’s COP30 Digital Support Project features Macaozinho, an AI assistant trained on thousands of UNFCCC documents and designed to provide reliable, science-based information without bias or misinformation.

AI can also help tackle the climate crisis by making extreme weather and disaster warnings faster, more accurate, and easier to understand, potentially saving lives and livelihoods in the process. Examples show how AI improves predictions not only about upcoming weather, but also about who and what will be most at risk. AI technology is playing a critical role in gathering and analyzing data to predict vulnerability and exposure risks, which may be especially important for data-scarce regions. 

AI models aren’t perfect. Sometimes they can miss important details about specific communities or situations, even misinterpret or overlook case-specific nuances. For example, a flood prediction system might rely mostly on satellite data and assume that all neighborhoods have the same resources or vulnerabilities. 

In reality, low-income or marginalized communities may live in areas more prone to flooding or lack the means to evacuate quickly. If AI ignores these differences, emergency responses could fail, either by neglecting these vulnerable groups or by over-allocating resources to areas that aren’t actually at the highest risk. This shows that AI needs careful design, local knowledge, and human oversight to make sure warnings and aid reach the people who need them most.

Challenges & Debates

But AI comes with environmental costs. It is well known that AI sucks up water and electric resources. In 2023, U.S. data centers used 17 billion gallons of water for cooling. That number is projected to increase to 34-68 billion gallons annually by 2028. 

For local communities, heavy use of water by AI data centers can put pressure on local utilities. This can lead to higher utility bills for residents and less water available for everyday needs. Some companies, like Microsoft, are starting to use zero-water cooling systems that don’t drain local water supplies. But most companies still rely on traditional methods that use a lot of water, which can strain communities while supporting AI development.

Besides water, a University of Massachusetts Amherst study found that training a single AI model can emit 284,000+ kgs of CO2 — the equivalent lifetime CO2 emissions of five average American cars. 

Workers are also facing serious challenges. In many parts of the Global South, people employed by AI tech companies spend long hours cleaning up algorithms and filtering harmful or obscene content—for wages that are often extremely low. Investigative reporters who visited these so-called “digital sweatshops” found workers earning as little as $1.46 an hour, while dealing with disturbing material day after day. 

Content moderators are exposed to violent texts, images, and videos, which can take a heavy toll on their mental health, leading to depression, anxiety, or even strains on personal relationships.

Countries in the Global North, like Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. lead the AI readiness rankings and reap most of the benefits, the Global South often falls behind. The high costs of AI development—including labor exploitation and heavy use of environmental resources—are largely borne by the Global South, while the Global North enjoys the rewards. This unequal distribution of benefits and burdens is increasingly being described as AI colonialism.

What Can We Do?

We must think critically about the use of AI in our own lives. Though you may not sit among the COP30 delegates, you can still speak up. Most digital data centers continue to rely on fossil fuel instead of renewable energy. Make your voice heard and tell your lawmakers #RenewableEnergyNow. 

If you’d like to learn more about AI and climate change, check out “The Double-Edged Sword of AI and the Battle Against Climate Misinformation.

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World Vegan Day celebrates people who don’t eat meat or other animal products, including eggs, milk, cheese, honey, or even whey. No animal based cheesecake, mayonnaise, or buttercream frosting. No smoked salmon or gelatin gummy bears. And absolutely no jerk chicken. 

But what vegans lose in choices, they make up for in fulfilling love for our planet and fellow animals. Besides, there are plenty of plant-based, dairy-free options out there — many of which are more wholesome than non-vegan products. 

What is more, some vegan and vegetarian diets come with reported health benefits. Vegetarian diets are associated with lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and decreased risks of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and worsening arthritis symptoms.

A 2016 study by Oxford Martin Scholars predicted that if a global shift was made towards a vegan diet, an estimated 8 million lives could be saved by 2050 compared to current global eating trends. The same study also estimated that food-related greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 29–70% if more of us went vegan.

Veganism exists along a spectrum, all vegans reject eating meat and dairy products but some choose not to eat honey or many reject using any animal-based products such as leather or pearl. Most vegans make personal commitments to support animal welfare and reduce causing harm to animals in every instance that they can. 

So, where did veganism come from and what kinds of peoples has it touched throughout history? Who were the first vegans and how has veganism changed over time? 

Early Religions and Vegan Ethos

The first religious vegan community dates back to 7000 BCE on the Indus river in a village known as Mehrgarh. Hinduism, a religion known for its reverence for living beings and for adhering to a non-meat diet, traces its philosophical roots back to this village. Later texts attest to their practice of nonviolence towards animals:

Hindus aren’t the only religious group to embrace plant-based diets. In the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, the book of Genesis describes the Garden of Eden as a paradise where humans and animals were originally herbivorous. 

Genesis 1:29 states that God gave the first humans “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it” for food. Verse 30 adds that “every green plant” was provided for all living creatures. According to this interpretation, Adam and Eve were originally plant-eaters, and the animals of the earth and sky were not meant to hunt or eat one another. This story has often been cited as an example of a divinely envisioned harmonious, plant-based world.

Jainism, a religion originating in India, takes the vegan ethos probably further than many others. Like Hinduism and Buddhism, Jainism adheres to principles of ahimsa, the ethical principle of non-violence toward all living beings.

For especially strict believers, like Jain monks, ahimsa includes plant, insect, and microbial life — any living thing with a soul or jiwa. Interrupting a creature’s jiwa caused perpetrators to incur karma, the accumulated effects of past actions. Strict Jain monks take extra precautions: they filter water to avoid ingesting tiny organisms, and they avoid eating after sunset to prevent accidentally harming insects that come out at night.

Jains follow a highly careful, plant-based diet relying on eating fruits, grains, legumes, and vegetables that grow above the ground, avoiding root vegetables, meat, eggs, and honey. Some  Jains consume dairy. 

Greek Philosophers and Veganism

Pythagoras (570-490 BCE) was a Greek philosopher whose work influenced the minds of Plato, Aristotle, and contributed greatly to Western rational philosophy. Pythagoras was so closely tied to abstaining from meat and fish that before the term vegetarian became popular in the 1800s, vegetarian and vegan diets were known as ‘Pythagorean’.

Other plant-based diets had slightly different name variations, such as ovo-vegetarians, which allows for the consumption of eggs, or lacto-vegetarians, which allows for the consumption of milk. But all of these historical diets centered around the complete abstinence of eating meat.

Pythagoras didn’t leave behind a written record of his lifestyle so what we do know about his diet and values comes from the writings of his contemporaries and followers. Neoplatonist philosopher Lamblichus wrote that Pythagoras avoided all animal flesh as a prerequisite to peace. Ovid recorded in his own works this Pythagorean quote: “Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul.”

Plato followed in Pythagoras’s footsteps. Though he may not have been a strict vegan himself, his work and teachings draw inspiration from Pythagoras and attribute abstinence of meat with a desire for peace, health, and happiness.

The West and Veganism

The roots of vegetarian and vegan thought in the West trace back to the Renaissance when humanists and clergy began raising ethical questions about eating animals. For example, humanist Desiderius Erasmus (1466‑1536) in his satirical work In Praise of Folly criticized the ceremonial violence of hunting as absurd and beast‑like — “And then what pleasure they take to see a buck or the like unlaced… In all which they drive at nothing more than to become beasts themselves, while yet they imagine they live the life of princes.” 

The tradition of avoiding meat eventually moved into more structured vegetarianism, when in the United Kingdom the Vegetarian Society was founded in 1847 under the chairmanship of Joseph Brotherton, offering a formal platform for abstaining from eating animals.

Across the Atlantic, the Ephrata Cloister  (Pennsylvania, USA, founded 1732) was a religious community whose members embraced a largely vegetarian diet as part of their ascetic devotion. While their vegetarian practices didn’t immediately spark a nationwide movement, they are historically significant as one of the first documented American communities to embrace a plant-based diet for ethical/religious reasons.

Their writings and lifestyle were noted by contemporary observers and later historians, linking them to the broader history of vegetarianism in the West.

In more recent decades the shift from vegetarianism to veganism — abstaining from all animal‐derived products — has accelerated across Europe and the US. 

Market research shows that plant-based food sales have surged, with the European market expected to reach $16.7 billion by 2029, growing at roughly 10% annually. Social initiatives like Veganuary, launched in 2014 in the UK, have attracted hundreds of thousands of participants globally, reflecting a broader cultural embrace of vegan lifestyles. Rising awareness of animal welfare, environmental concerns, and health benefits has made veganism increasingly visible and influential, transforming both markets and daily diets.

Meanwhile the contemporary vegan movement draws on that long ethical heritage of non‑violence, compassion for animals, and reconsidering dietary norms. Whether you see it in the quiet gardens of 18th‑century Pennsylvania, the moral treatises of Renaissance scholars, or the bustling vegan cafés of London and New York, the continuous thread is this: food is not just fuel, but a statement of values and how we relate to other beings and the planet.

The Modern Vegan Movement

The modern vegan movement took off in 1944 when the word “vegan” was coined by animal rights activist, Donald Watson, and a group of friends in England. They wanted a word to describe a lifestyle that excluded all animal products, not just meat — meaning it would cover dairy, eggs, and other animal-derived products as well. They took the first three and last two letters of “vegetarian” to create “vegan”. That same year, Watson co-founded The Vegan Society in the UK, which remains the primary organization promoting veganism worldwide.

Watson used the past year’s epidemic of Tuberculosis in cattle to support his new movement, claiming that a vegan lifestyle helped prevent people from ingesting contaminated food. At the time of his death in 2005, there were 250,000 self-identified vegans in Britain and 2 million in the U.S.

Today, many people around the world have embraced plant-based lifestyles. Data from 2023 estimates that there are approximately 88 million vegans worldwide. India leads the charge — in 2024, the plant-based powerhouse counted 10% of its population as vegan where most other Western countries’ counts remain under 3%. 

As we celebrate World Vegan Day, let’s remember to respect other peoples’ dietary practices and learn more about them. Consider trying Veganuary, a global movement supporting people who’d like to try going vegan in January. Meatless Mondays are another option to dip your toes in and gradually reduce meat in your diet. 

Plant-based diets are packed with protein, fiber, and goodness. Whatever your preference, plant-based diets offer a host of health benefits for both you and our planet. Don’t be afraid to go out there and try something new.

Going plant-based is one of the most effective ways you can help fight climate change. Learn more about food and regenerative agriculture here.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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