Dan planeta Zemlje

Dan planeta Zemlje

Dan planeta Zemlje, Earth Day, obilježava se 22. travnja u više od 150 zemalja diljem svijeta.

Na konferenciji UNESCO-a 1969. godine John McConnell prvi je put predstavio ideju obilježavanja Dana Zemlje i iste je godine dizajnirana Zastava Zemlje, a sam je naziv Earth day prvi put upotrijebio 21. ožujka gradonačelnik San Francisca Joseph Alioto 1969. g., u proglasu kojim je odlučeno da se u gradu i na područja San Francisca proslavi kao Dan planeta Zemlje.

U Hrvatskoj se Dan planeta Zemlje organizirano obilježava od 1990. godine.

Vlada RH u akciji čišćenja okoliša…

http://www.jutarnji.hr/vlada-u-akciji-ciscenja-okolisa--milanovic-i-holy-zasukali-rukave--pridruzio-im-se-i-bandic-/1023211/?foto=5  

Dan planeta Zemlje službeno se obilježava od 1992. godine kada je tijekom Konferencije UN-a o okolišu i razvoju u Rio de Janeiru na kojoj je sudjelovao velik broj predstavnika vlada i nevladinih udruga usklađen dalekosežni program za promicanje održivog razvoja.

Na prijedlog bolivijske vlade 2009. godine Opća je skupština Ujedinjenih naroda 22. travnja proglasila međunarodnim Danom planeta Zemlje.

Fotosi,štiva

http://www.google.com/search?q=Dan+planeta+zemlje&hl=en&client=opera&hs=4v4&rls=en&channel=suggest&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZzmTT8GtBozR4QSz34XRDw&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=991&bih=637&sei=QjqTT5OcAYnf4QSRv-nQDw

Earth Day: The History of A Movement

Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.  Although mainstream America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962.  The book represented a watershed moment for the modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and, up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms. Carson raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and public health.

Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center.

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land.

As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Gaylord recalled, "but it worked."

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1995. -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. With 5,000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. It used the Internet to organize activists, but also featured a talking drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, and hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Earth Day 2000 sent world leaders the loud and clear message that citizens around the world wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

Much like 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to a strong narrative that overshadowed the cause of progress and change. In spite of the challenge, for its 40th anniversary, Earth Day Network reestablished Earth Day as a powerful focal point around which people could demonstrate their commitment. Earth Day Network brought 225,000 people to the National Mall for a Climate Rally, amassed 40 million environmental service actions toward its 2012 goal of A Billion Acts of Green®, launched an international, 1-million tree planting initiative with Avatar director James Cameron and tripled its online base to over 900,000 community members.

The fight for a clean environment continues in a climate of increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day. We invite you to be a part of Earth Day and help write many more victories and successes into our history. Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grassroots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come.

Earth Day on the National Mall

http://www.earthday.org/blog/2012/04/20/pres-obama-issues-green-schools-proclamation

Earth Day on the National Mall: Mobilize the Earth

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The event is rain or shine check back here for weather updates 11 AM to 7 PM

Join Us!

NEW! Ron Holloway, The Chad Hollister Band and Special Guest Ledisi to Perform at Earth Day Rally on the National Mall

Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Kicking Daisies and Explorers Club to Perform at Earth Day Rally on the National Mall

Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington DC will be the centerpiece of Earth Day in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of environmentally-conscious people from all walks of life and all parts of the country will be joined by civic leaders and celebrities for this special event to galvanize the environmental movement.

Participants on the National Mall will be standing in solidarity with the millions of people rallying at Earth Day events around the world from Rome to Rio, Beijing to Beirut. Together, we will Mobilize The Earth and build a sustainable future.

Earth Day On the National Mall

Free and open to the public

Top musical talent

Prominent speakers and celebrities

Youth rally and voter registration

Live news coverage, global webcast

Renewable energy demonstrations

Non-profit and embassy booths

Interactive exhibits

Stay tuned for updates on who will be joining us for this year’s pivotal Mobilize the Earth event.

About the National Mall

The National Mall is the monumental green space at the heart of civic America. This national treasure stretches for two miles just south of the White House, from the U.S. Capitol Building in the east to the Lincoln Memorial and Potomac River on the west. The park is home to the Smithsonian, a huge collection of the nation's best (and free) museums, as well as most of the country's most famous memorials and monuments. It is the number-one destination for 16 million visitors to the city, and one of the biggest destinations in the country. April sees the highest rate of vists to the National Mall.

Lavrov briefing reporters after Thursday’s NATO-Russia talks in Brussels.

BRUSSELS — NATO and Russia are facing new dissonances because the Western alliance's upcoming Chicago summit is likely to be held without Moscow's participation.

Speaking at separate news conferences after a NATO-Russia council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said both sides were committed to continuing cooperation on various fields.

But an ongoing spat over missile defense, uncertainty over an offer from Moscow to open an airport in Ulyanovsk for NATO transports from Afghanistan and Vladimir Putin's looming return to the Kremlin have cast a shadow over the relationship, which was formalized with the creation of the NATO-Russia Council a decade ago.

At the May 20-21 Chicago summit, NATO is set to launch the first phase of its missile shield without having won Moscow's participation as hoped after the Lisbon NATO-Russia summit in 2010.

Lavrov warned that he might not accept an invitation to send a representative to Chicago because the alliance won't let Moscow attend all meetings of nations contributing to ISAF, NATO's Afghanistan mission.

He argued that some countries contribute just two officers to ISAF, while Russia provides vital transport corridors to Afghanistan. "We believe that our views are important. It is not fair that we get no invitation," he told reporters.

Rasmussen said Russia was invited to attend an ISAF-contributor meeting at the sidelines of the Chicago summit.

He explained that Putin had agreed not to come because the event would be too soon after he was sworn in as president. "We agreed that due to a very busy domestic political calendar in Russia … it's not possible and not practical also to have a NATO-Russia summit meeting in Chicago," Rasmussen said.

"Our relationship with Russia is not dependent on one single meeting. It's a long-term partnership," he said.

Putin's inauguration is scheduled for May 7. Putin will, however, attend a Group of Eight summit in Camp David on May 18 and 19.

Earlier reports said U.S. President Barack Obama moved the G8 summit to Camp David in a goodwill gesture to avoid potentially putting Putin in an awkward position. However, a NATO source told The Moscow Times that the alliance was more than happy not to see Putin in Chicago. "They do not want him to steal the show," the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Putin appeared before reporters without prior announcement at NATO's Bucharest summit in 2008 and reportedly tried to gatecrash the alliance's Riga summit in 2006, only to be rebuffed by the Latvian government.

The Chicago summit will also finalize a massive troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which hinges upon Russian support because rail transportation through Pakistan and Uzbekistan has become increasingly difficult.

Moscow has offered use of an airport in Ulyanovsk for airlifting so-called nonlethal equipment from Afghanistan, but the proposal has been met with bitter resistance by the Communists, who even staged a hunger strike. Lavrov did not say Thursday when the airlifts could begin.

Meanwhile, Lavrov made it clear that missile defense remains the biggest challenge for the country's NATO ties by reiterating Moscow's demand for firm guarantees that the planned shield won't be directed against Russia.

He said a written political declaration, as offered by NATO, was insufficient and that the guarantees should be based on "objective criteria."

Asked to explain, he said they should include "military, technical and other" criteria that ensure the system is not directed against any European country, including Russia.

Lavrov did not mention the Kremlin's long-standing demand for "legally binding guarantees," something that NATO has refused to grant in the past. But a NATO spokesman said Thursday that "technical criteria" referred to Moscow's call for technical limitations that would render the system incapable of intercepting missiles from Russia.

"This is completely out of the question," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

Lavrov said Moscow would stage a public evaluation of the missile shield's technical capability during a major conference planned by the Defense Ministry for May 3 and 4 in Moscow.

NATO officials said the alliance had been invited but a decision had yet to be made on who would attend.

Evoking Ronald Reagan, Lavrov said that while words were important, one should "trust, but verify, as one U.S. president said." Reagan frequently used the Russian proverb when discussing relations with the Soviet Union.

Moscow has opposed NATO's missile defense plans, which include stationing SM-3 interceptors in Poland and Romania and on ships based in Spain. President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to station new missiles in the western exclave of Kaliningrad.

NATO officials say the defense shield is technically incapable of intercepting Russian missiles and that Moscow has declined or not responded to offers to inspect their latest technology at a U.S. military base in Colorado Springs.

A senior NATO official made it clear that the plans would go ahead without Moscow. "NATO's system is going to be deployed no matter what," he said.

Rasmussen, however, stressed that talks would continue. "While dialogue is not always easy, we continue exploring the options," he said, noting that NATO and Russian experts held a computerized missile defense exercise in Germany last month.

British Queen celebrates 86th birthday

Xinhua China Daily

Self portraits by 200,000 children are projected onto Buckingham Palace to form portraits of Queen Elizabeth in central London April 19, 2012. The portraits were collected by the Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts to celebrate the nation's children in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday celebrated her 86th birthday, in the year which is also her Diamond Jubilee.

Military units across the country fired gun salutes to mark the occasion, with a 41-gun salute fired by horse-drawn artillery in central London's Hyde Park, and a 62-gun salute fired at the Tower of London by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

Other venues for gun salutes included York in the north of England, and Windsor, home to the Queen's residence Windsor Castle.

To mark the birthday, the Queen announced the Queen's Awards for Enterprise, which reward achievement by businesses.

The Queen stuck with tradition this year, and spent her birthday privately celebrating with members of her family at Windsor.

A public celebration of her birthday is held each year in the middle of June, on her official birthday.

This is not the same day each year, but always a Saturday in the first half of June when the fickle British weather is most likely to provide good weather for the celebrations.

Each year on the official birthday, the Queen inspects military units from her own division of the British Army, the Household Division.

The units, representing five battalions of Foot Guards, a battalion of cavalry and a battery of artillery, march through central London in ceremonial uniforms and then parade in front of the Queen.

As the Queen celebrated her birthday, a row was developing over the re-release of an anti-monarchist song "God Save the Queen" by punk band the Sex Pistols.

The single was originally released in 1977 to mark the then Silver Jubilee of the Queen, and included the lyrics "God Save the Queen/She ain't no human being." It became an anti-establishment hit, and provoked widespread anger among authorities.

The BBC banned the song, local authorities refused to allow the band to perform shows, and many shops would not sell the single.

Members of the Sex Pistols were briefly arrested for playing the song on a boat sailing down the Thames river in London during the Silver Jubilee celebrations on June 7, 1977.

The record company Universal announced plans to re-release the song at the beginning of June, but the band's lead singer John Lydon disassociated himself from the re-release and urged fans not to buy the single.

The Daily Yomiuri

Tourist haiku box installed in Brussels

BRUSSELS (Jiji Press)--A ceremony to mark the installation of a "Tourist Haiku Post Box" was held Thursday in Brussels, joined by EU President and haiku fan Herman Van Rompuy.

The box was placed at the Mission of Japan to the European Union by the city of Matsuyama, which promotes tourism through haiku poems.

In his speech at the ceremony, Van Rompuy delivered a haiku that portrays a spring scene. "Flowering orchard, born again every year. I welcome the blossoms," he wrote and dropped it in the box.

Matsuyama, the hometown of renowned haiku poet Shiki Masaoka, has placed haiku boxes, along with paper strips, at 90 locations in Matsuyama so tourists can enjoy the traditional poem casually.

The city regularly selects and presents well-written work from the submissions.

Brussels, home to EU headquarters, is the first overseas site in which Matsuyama has installed such a box. Thursday's ceremony was also attended by Matsuyama Mayor Katsuhito Noshi.

Van Rompuy, who writes one haiku every two weeks, published his first haiku collection in 2010. Haiku brings Europe and Japan closer, he said.

Apr. 21, 2012

http://www.viennaticketoffice.com/oper_en.php

Japan-Belgium pairings set

The Daily Yomiuri

Ayumi Morita will start things off for Japan in its Fed Cup World Group playoff against a depleted Belgian squad starting Saturday at Tokyo's Ariake Colosseum.

Morita will take on Alison van Uytvanck in the opening singles match before 41-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm faces teenager Tamaryn Hendler.

The pairings will be reversed on Sunday, when the tie will be capped with Rika Fujiwara and Morita playing Ysaline Bonaventure and An-Sophie Mestach in doubles.

A victory would put Japan back into World Group for the first time in six years.

Belgium will be playing without its top three ranked players, Yanina Wickmeyer, Kim Clijsters and Kirsten Flipkens. Japan has won all three previous clashes between the two nations, the last time in 1991.

Apr. 21, 2012