#InvestInOurPlanet this Earth Day

Today, we celebrate the 52nd Earth Day, a global movement started by millions of citizens concerned about the state of our planet. Now, nearly every country in the world is involved.

Cover Photo by Ryan Tidman

Earth Day was born to mobilize individuals, businesses, and governments to take more tangible environmental actions to foster a more sustainable future. This year’s theme #InvestInOurPlanet, is focused on accelerating solutions to combat climate change, and to activate everyone — governments, citizens, and businesses — to do their part.

The Pacific Northwest has continued to see the negative impacts of climate change and changing ecosystems. This year, we saw atmospheric rivers caused by intense rainfall that were exacerbated by this summer’s wildfires. Continual clear-cutting has had devastating effects on vulnerable salmon stocks. Warming water temperatures are continuing to make spawning rivers and ocean temperatures more difficult for juvenile fish to survive. Herring continue to be threatened by overfishing and loss of habitat caused by global warming and lack of available prey like zooplankton and phytoplankton. These irreplaceable ecosystems also store vast amounts of carbon and provide oxygen to cool down the earth. The continued loss of forests has left impacts on many populations of caribou which are now in serious decline without the habitat they need and wolves are being culled as the response.

We need everyone to #InvestInOurPlanet while there’s still time.

Pacific Wild continues to work towards protecting wildlife and the lands and waters they inhabit to support healthy biodiversity throughout the Great Bear Rainforest and the Pacific Northwest region. Deep wilderness areas including forests, estuaries, and bogs that are found here hold the Earth’s greatest carbon sinks. Pacific Wild has spent years fighting to protect old-growth temperate forests which sequester a considerable amount of the world’s CO2. We have a number of active campaigns including fighting for the conservation of Pacific herring, ending unethical and ineffective predator management policies for British Columbia’s wild wolves, advocating for high standards of marine protected areas, and pushing our government for better monitoring of our wild salmon.

This Earth Day, Pacific Wild is calling on you to add your voice to the countless environmental organizations around the globe calling for individuals to stand up for the future of our planet. We need to hold our governments, industries, and businesses accountable to take more tangible environmental actions and foster a sustainable future. Get involved in your community, write letters to your local representatives, and spread awareness about the environmental issues that matter most to you.

#InvestInOurPlanet