Earth Day 2020

The Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University have launched Earth Stanzas, an interactive poetry project in honor of Earth Day. Earth Stanzas draws on the inspiration of eight poets who engage the beauty, depth, and interconnectedness of the Earth, and invites readers to interact with the poems and find their own poetic voice.  “Erasure” poems can be created from a pool of primary texts, including excerpts from an International Panel on Climate Change report, historical documents such as the Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World and Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, celebrated in 1970 when 20 million Americans gathered across the country to raise awareness to the growing destruction of our planet. Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. 50 years later as these protections are threatened we again must sound the alarm for dynamic action to be taken. 

Please join us along with Poets for Science, The Academy of American Poets, The Climate Museum, Earth Day Network, and many others giving voice to the Earth.

We’ve also provided links below to Earth Day Events around the web, and please enjoy reflections from Religions for the Earth in 2014, which inspired the creation of the Center for Earth Ethics.

Wishing All a very Happy Earth Day  The Center for Earth Ethics Team