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Image Associated to World Environment Day-June 5th

World Environment Day-June 5th

May 14th, 2007

The U.N’s World Environment Day takes place on June 5th. It is celebrated in over 100 countries and aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire people to action. Activities including green concerts, bicycle parades, tree planting and clean up campaigns are held to mark the event.

Each year, a different city is chosen as the principal venue for the global celebration of World Environment Day. The 2007 event is to be hosted in Norway with the theme of ‘Melting Ice-A Hot Topic’ used as the main focus for the occasion. Norway as a polar nation hopes that this year’s theme will inspire a range of activities and events all over the world.

Secretary-General of the U.N Ban Ki-Moon in a message of support for the event said “For the people and ecosystems of the Arctic, the implications are profound. Retreating sea ice is reducing habitat for vulnerable Arctic species. The changes will also affect Arctic indigenous communities who depend on the natural world, not just for food, but for their cultural identity”

The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme said “The Arctic and Antarctica may be the Earth’s climate early warning system—feeling the heat first. Ocean circulation, the key driver of regional and global weather systems, is inextricably linked with melting and freezing processes in and around the poles. The Polar Regions are also a kind of protective shield, reflecting heat back into space that would otherwise be absorbed on Earth. So, what happens in the Arctic and the Antarctic as a result of climate change is of direct interest to us all—from someone living in the Congo River Basin, the Australian outback to suburban dwellers in Berlin, New Delhi, or London. The actions of those living outside the Polar Regions is of direct interest to Arctic peoples. The vast majority of emissions that are contributing to melting ice are being generated on the roads and in the factories, homes and offices of the industrialized and the rapidly industrializing economies”

For more information on World Environment day or to register an event see the link below.

Related Links

www.unep.org/wed/2007/english/

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