Asks World to Take #GlobalSelfie

CELEBRATION\\ In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 2014, NASA announced an interesting initiative called #GlobalSelfie Day where they created a mosaic image of the iconic Blue Marble photo of the planet by combining photos taken by participants. In 2014, the theme and concept of Earth Day 2014 was Green Cities. The Earth Day concept was founded by a US Senator, Gaylord Nelson, after the oil spil incident in Santa Barbara of California. In 1990, the celebrations became global and now close to 200 countries celebrate the Earth Day. Founder Gaylord Nelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Bill Clinton in 1995. After the movement started, US Congress passed the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2014, in a newsletter published by the United States Consulate General, US Consul General to India, Jeniffer McIntyre, noted the significant contribution made by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar in developing Earth Day as an international day. “A significant contribution to Earth Day has been the Earth Anthem, which was written by Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar, which includes lyrics in eight different languages. Truly an anthem for the Earth.” April 22, 2014, marked the 44th anniversary of Earth Day. McIntyre noted that the US and India have played a significant role in developing the Earth Day as an international day. “Our countries’ mutual promotion of Earth Day is one of several points of cooperation between the US and India.”