Earth Day

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. Earth Day is celebrated in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.

On Gaia Online, Earth Day was made aware of twice: 2009 and 2010. In 2009 there was a quiz while in 2010 there was a virtual world created, called "Earth Day Forest Stage". In this virtual world Gaians could talk to Diedrich (a green Grunny) and get fun facts and by various hanging objects. Included with this celebration was a Cash Shop item called the "Gift of the Colibri"; this limited-edition item boasts a hardy collection of nature-themed goodness: leafy garments, a handy tote bag, colorful wings, a bright-red hibiscus flower and an adorable hummingbird companion. It was only available until the 23rd. Ten percent of all proceeds from the item went to Conservation International.

A forum for Earth Day 2010 was released and Diedrich popped in to occasionally create topics and give his own facts.

April 2009
Earth. It's a planet... as far as we know. Science tells us that it's our home, the place where we live, breathe, and shave. But science also tells us that we're messing it up with pollution and naughty dancing. We must work together to preserve our planet, because all the bathrooms are here.

That's why we have Earth Day: to remind us that we only get one planet to destroy, so we'd better destroy it as slowly as possible. In honor of this ecotastic day, we put together a special quiz brimming with earthly wisdom and useful factlets.

April 2010
Hello!

Did you know that April 22nd is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? It really is. You can celebrate by visiting me in the new fact-filled forest hangout. There's even a tree to climb! Click below or pick the "Earth Day Forest Stage" link from the "World" menu up top!

Visit the Earth Day Forest

I know something else, too. Did you know that there's a new Earth Day item in the Cash Shop?



You can also talk about Earth and recycling and preserving nature in the new Earth Day forum! Please do not talk about other planets there.

Check out the Earth Day Forum

Ok, that is all! I'm going to the forest now. See you there.

Bye bye!

Earth Day Forest Stage

 * World


 * -Earth Day was established in 1970 when people first realized that Earth might be important to human survival.


 * -Earth Day is celebrating its 40th anniversary on April 22nd, but the planet Earth is celebrating its 4.54 billionth on May 7th at exactly 4:05 pm CST.


 * -The earth is not flat, but it is made up of millions of flat triangles interlocked to form a spherical mesh.


 * Flower


 * -Colony collapse disorder--the sudden disappearance of worker bees--could wreak havoc on crops if it continues to spread. If you see a bee, please thank it for its hard work!


 * -Flowers and bees may go hand in hand in nature, but girls don't like it when you give them a bunch of bees.


 * -Fact: flowers may look pretty, but most of them taste awful.


 * Star


 * -The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a humongous collection of plastics, sludge and other garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area greater than the size of Texas.


 * -Millions of sea creatures are threatened by pollution, overfishing and the construction of secret underwater cities by billionaire objectivists.


 * -Starfish can continuously regenerate and, under the right conditions, can outlive a vampire or a mummy.


 * Hummingbird


 * -Did you know that birds are just inside-out pillows? Think about it.


 * -Not a fact: the largest birds are capable of lifting trucks and firing heat-seeking missiles at prey.


 * -Fact: the majestic hummingbird makes a fine accompaniment to most any avatar. Check it out in the Cash Shop!


 * Leaf


 * -Trees and plants play an essential part in supplying us with oxygen and cleaning our air, yet we're destroying our forests at alarming rates.


 * -Recycle whenever you can. No sense choppin' down a tree if you don't have to, especially since there's probably some kind of critter living in it.


 * -Leaves make for a delicious snack if you're a tiny insect or a goat. They also do that whole photosynthesis thing, which is pretty useful.


 * -The Sean Connery movie Medicine Man tells us there are cures for all sorts of diseases in the rainforest, so we should probably stop tearing them down so recklessly.


 * Cloud


 * -Climate change is a real danger, and it's clear that mankind is responsible. Way to mess things up again, mankind!


 * -Climate change has the potential to radically alter and intensify our weather. Look out for increases in hurricanes, droughts and other scary stuff. Bummer!


 * -Rising temperatures are rapidly melting ice caps and thawing the Arctics, raising the sea levels and making it really hard to be a polar bear. No wonder they're so angry.


 * Fish


 * -Overfishing threatens to wipe out many aquatic species. Please try to limit the mount of giant squids you eat in any given week.


 * -If current trends continue, fish will remain delicious long into the future. However, their numbers will keep dropping unless we start practicing greater conservation and take better care of the environment.


 * -Rumor has it, under the right circumstances, fish love to party.


 * -Fact: otters are probably the best thing that the seas and rivers have created.

Diedrich: Posting
Hey!
 * How are you reducing your carbon footprint?

Did you know you can reduce your carbon footprint by doing simple things like using energy-efficient light bulbs and taking public transportation? If you lived in a city bus you probably wouldn't even need to buy light bulbs.

It's also not a good idea to use your microwave oven for home heating, but don't ask me why.

Are you doing anything to help the planet? Please share!

Thanks and bye bye! Goodbye now!

Did you know that some people say nuclear power is a clean and efficient way to make stuff work? Oh, but some people are worried that it will turn them into mutants with superpowers. But some people want to be mutants with superpowers.
 * Nuclear power? What do you think?

What do you think?

OK, I'm going to go now.

Well, see you later.

Did you know that a bunch of different animals are in big trouble because people like to cut down forests to make apocryphal wooden teeth for their historical presidents? It's true.
 * What's your favorite endangered species?

My favorite one is the Dhole. He's a cute wild foxy-dog guy who screams and barks and clucks like a chicken.

There are only 2,500 left, so don't eat too many.

Well, bye.

Bye bye to the Dhole.

Dhole: Handsome Dog of Nature

Hi! Did you know that some of the best, most amazing places in the world are being chopped down or blown to bits? Forests and mountains and caves are all full of hidden treasures, so we tear them apart every day to get at them!
 * Where do you go for your nature?

Most of the time I live in a forest, but sometimes I relax by burrowing deep underground where the rocks are very hot and I can hear screaming.

Where do you go to reconnect with nature? Post your favorite places to go and maybe share a picture if you have one.

OK, I will let you talk now.

Bye bye!


 * It's an oily mess!

Hello!

Hi! Did you know that humans consume over 85 million barrels of oil every day? Where are we getting these barrels, and will we ever get over our dependency on barrels?

Do you think we'll ever ween ourselves off oil, or will we always crave its sweet taste and lubricating properties? I would like a car that runs on old eggs or maybe one that harnesses the power of yelling.

What do you think will happen?

Sorry, but I have to go now. Bye bye!