April
22
International Mother Earth Day
Mother
Earth is a common expression for the planet earth in a number
of countries and regions, which reflects the interdependence
that exists among human beings, other living species and the
planet. For instance, Bolivians call Mother Earth Pachamama
and Nicaraguans refer to her as Tonantzin.
The proclamation
of 22 April as International Mother Earth Day is an acknowledgement
that the Earth and its ecosystems provide its inhabitants with
life and sustenance. It also recognizes a collective responsibility,
as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony
with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the
economic, social and environmental needs of present and future
generations of humanity.
International
Mother Earth Day provides an opportunity to raise public awareness
around the world to the challenges regarding the well-being
of the planet and all the life it supports.
Background
The world has been slow to respond to the emergencies posed
by global warming and the damage human activities are causing
the planet. In 1972, the United Nations organized the first
UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. It marked
the beginning of a global awareness of the interdependence that
exists among human beings, other living species, and our planet.
International
Mother Earth Day promotes a view of the Earth as the entity
that sustains all living things found in nature. It honors the
Earth as a whole and our place within it. It does not seek to
replace other events, such as Earth Day, which has been celebrated
by many people around the world on 22 March since the 1970s,
but rather to reinforce and reinterpret them based on the evolving
challenges we face.
In 2009,
at its Eighth Session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
requested special rapporteurs to prepare a Study on the need
to recognize and respect the rights of Mother Earth. At its
Ninth Session, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will
discuss the findings of the study, as well as works toward establishing
a Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth.
Events
238 – Year
of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus
Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates
two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne.
1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement
at Veracruz, Mexico.
1529 – Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between
Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of
the Moluccas.
1809 – The second day of the Battle of Eckmühl: the Austrian
army is defeated by the First French Empire army led by Napoleon
I of France and driven over the Danube in Regensburg.
1836 – Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto,
forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General
Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1863 – American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under
Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
1864 – The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that
mandates that the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all
coins minted as United States currency.
1876 – The first ever National League baseball game is played
in Philadelphia.
1889 – At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land
Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie
are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
1898 – Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a
blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captures a Spanish
merchant ship.
1906 – The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part
of the official Olympic Games, open in Athens.
1911 – Tsinghua University, one of mainland China's leading
universities, is founded.
1912 – Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
1915 – The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine
gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of
Ypres.
1930 – The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign
the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting
shipbuilding.
1944 – The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters
stage the first use of helicopters in combat with CSAR operations
in the China-Burma-India theater.
1944 – World War II: Operation Persecution is initiated – Allied
forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area
of New Guinea.
1945 – World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration
camp revolt. 520 are killed and 80 escape.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: After learning that Soviet
forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits
defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is
his only recourse.
1948 – 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, a major port of Israel,
is captured from Arab forces.
1954 – Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television
coverage of the Army-McCarthy Hearings begins.
1964 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its first
season.
1969 – British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the
first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
1970 – The first Earth Day is celebrated.
1972 – Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts
anti-war protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
1983 – The German magazine Der Stern claims that the "Hitler
Diaries" had been found in wreckage in East Germany; the
diaries are subsequently revealed to be forgeries.
1992 – In an explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico, 206 people are
killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 left homeless.
1993 – Version 1.0 of the Mosaic web browser is released.
1997 – Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria – 93 villagers killed.
1997 – The Japanese embassy hostage crisis ends in Lima, Peru.
1998 – Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near
Orlando, Florida, United States.
2000 – In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old
Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.
2000 – The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom.
2000 – Second Battle of Elephant Pass: Tamil Tigers capture
a strategic Sri Lankan Army base and hold it for 8 years.
2003 – Election of the fifth Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
2004 – Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing
up to 150 people.
2005 – Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for
Japan's war record.
2006 – 243 people are injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal
after Nepali security forces open fire on protesters against
King Gyanendra.
2008 – The United States Air Force retires the remaining F-117
Nighthawk aircraft in service.
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church)
Epipodius and Alexander
April 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Discovery Day (Brazil)
Earth Day (United States), and its related observances:
International Mother Earth Day (International)
For details, contact Datacentre
|