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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid
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And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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What will you be doing on June 5, 2009?
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In Kenya, people will be giving their time to remove waste and trash from along the Nairobi River. High school students there are part of a group called "Clean Up Young Youth Club." They work with other volunteers from around the city. Together they hope to return the Nairobi River to the beautiful river is once was.
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In Australia young children will begin to think about parts of the environment through games and other activities. A local government will hold a special celebration. On this day, children will learn real ways to take care of their local environment.
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Other people around the world will be joining parades to encourage bicycle riding. There will be music concerts. Some people will be writing opinion pieces for a newspaper. Some people will inspire, other people through their words. And some will inspire other people through their actions. So, what will YOU be doing on June 5, 2009?
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If you are anything like these people, you will be joining the world in celebrating this year's World Environment Day. On this day the UN hopes you will be taking action - because your planet needs you!
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Every year on June 5, people around the world celebrate World Environment Day. It is a day for people to think about the world they live in. The United Nations, governments and other organizations use the day to encourage people to act to change their world. They try to change people's mistaken ideas about environmental issues. They encourage people to work with other people, and countries to work with other countries, because we all share one planet. This year the theme for the day is "Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change."
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Climate change threatens our Earth. The way people use the earth's resources is often wasteful. The waste that people produce affects the earth. Many experts are concerned about greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. They influence the temperature of the Earth. In recent history, people have produced more and more of these gases. And over a time, the Earth's temperature has been changing. Changes in temperature affect weather patterns like how much rain or sun an area gets. Changing weather can affect food production and animals' lives. And this affects people's lives.
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Climate change affects all people. Greenhouse gases cannot be contained inside a country's borders. Climate change affects every place. This is why people must work together to change.
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This year, the official celebration of World Environment Day will take place in Mexico. Experts believe that Mexico will soon become one of the world's leaders in fighting climate change. They believe that Mexicans are doing a good job of uniting to fight climate change. One UN official pointed out that in only four years, Mexico had become "second only to Brazil in terms of wind, solar, biogas, and other Clean Development Mechanism projects in the region." That is, Mexico is working to develop cleaner forms of producing energy. Mexicans are working to reduce the amounts of greenhouse gases they produce.
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But there is another reason the United Nations chose Mexico to hold the World Environment Day celebration. The Mexicans are good examples and leaders in a program called "The Billion Tree Campaign."
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The Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign is a project of the UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program. The project asks all people to do one simple thing - plant a tree! They ask "people, communities, business and industry, civil society, organizations and governments" to take part. They encourage each person or group to visit the UNEP's website and promise to plant one tree. Their goal is to plant at least one billion [1,000,000,000] trees each year. As an even bigger goal, the UNEP wants to plant seven billion [7,000,000,000] trees by the end of 2009.
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On March 30, 2009, the Billion Tree Campaign confirmed that people had planted more than three billion trees already. The country of Turkey helped to reach that goal. In two thousand eight, the Turkish government and Turkish communities planted over three hundred million [300,000,000] trees. One government official described why Turkey was so excited to take part in the Billion Tree Campaign:
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"We believe that investing in our environment is investing in our future. And we consider the planting of over three hundred million [300,000,000] trees as a wonderful gift to our children and to the generations to come."
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The United Nations Environment Program says that Mexico has been a leader in the Billion Tree Campaign. The President and the people have all supported it. The country has already planted some trees. And they have promised to plant more. The amount they have already planted, plus the amount they have promised to plant are about twenty-five [25] percent of the trees in the campaign.
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But why is planting trees so important? You see, trees take in carbon dioxide - one greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is produced when people breathe. Vehicles burn fuels and create it too. When trees take in carbon dioxide they produce oxygen. And oxygen is the main gas that we need when we breathe. But cutting down forests means less trees to take the carbon dioxide gases in. So, planting new trees is important because it helps to balance the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the world.
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Joining the Billion Tree Campaign is just one way people can celebrate World Environment Day. World Environment Day encourages people everywhere to think about their place in this world. It encourages people to act. We all share one planet. We all share the responsibility of caring for it. Recycle. Reuse things you might throw away. Reduce the amount of waste you throw away. Ride a bicycle or walk instead of using a vehicle. Learn more about how your environment works. If you need more ideas, you can visit our website. There, you can find a link to the UNEP's website for more ideas. Whatever you do, World Environment Day asks you to work with other people to save your planet. Your planet needs you!
So, what will you be doing on June 5, 2009?
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