EARTH DAY 2024, April 22, 2024, global

April 22 has been celebrated as Earth Day every year since 1970. Events take place globally.

The theme for 2024 is “Planet vs. Plastics.”

EarthDay.org is a good place to start to find events near you.

NASA often holds events over several days to highlight the contributions of satellite data to understanding the Earth system.

In 2024, at NASA HQ in Washington, DC, it will:

• have a series of “Water  Touches Everything” in-person and virtual events from April 18 at 9:00 am ET through April 19 at 5:00 pm ET at its Earth Information Center in the lobby and
• have a media briefing on April 19 at 11:00 am ET in the Auditorium (airing on NASA TV) with an update on climate and earth science programs.

In addition, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will visit Mexico April 22-23 to meet with Mexico’s President (pending confirmation) and Mexican Space Agency (AEM) leaders to discuss bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including earth science.

Although many in the space community associate Earth Day and the public’s greater appreciation of the fragility of our planet to the images sent back by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, the Earth Day website makes no mention of the space program as a catalyst, but rather a January 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, CA.