With the world at a tipping point as global warming’s effects continue to increase exponentially, Thursday’s (April 22) 50th annual Earth Day celebration arrived with an added urgency.
The pressure to do more was embodied in President Biden’s ambitious pledge on Wednesday to push the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 heights by 2030. The bold reversal from the climate change-denying former administration was a precursor to the kick-off today of a two-day virtual climate summit in which the world’s leaders will gather to commit to bold action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Of course, Biden is not alone in his push to highlight and support Mother Earth, as plenty of musicians and other stars are using their bully pulpit to raise awareness and funds to combat climate change.
Check out some of events taking place on Thursday below.
Earth Day! The Musical
Justin Bieber and Maluma are taking part in Earth Day! The Musical!, a Facebook Watch special hosted by science guy Bill Nye, who will share information on how you can help restore the planet. The event, a partnership with EARTHDAY.org will also feature appearances from young climate activists as well as Ben Platt, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, CNCO, Cody Simpson, Idina Menzel, Jack Harlow, Steve Aoki, and Tori Kelly. Zac Efron, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Karamo Brown and Nick Kroll.
“Earth Day! The Musical” will air Thursday at noon ET on Facebook Watch.
Cher and the Loneliest Elephant
Musical icon Cher fell in love with Pakistani elephant Kaavan in 2016 and she’s spent the past five years advocating for the world to open its eyes to the horrid treatment of pachyderms around the planet. The singer stars in the new Smithsonian Channel documentary, Cher and the Loneliest Elephant, which will start streaming on Thursday on Paramount+
“If Cher gets a generation or two of people to reconsider supporting a circus or a zoo that has a poorly kept elephant, that’s progress,” said Nitkim Sekar, national lead for elephant conservation for WWF-India . “It reduces the social and economic incentives for keeping an elephant in a miserable state just to make a quick buck.”
Check out a trailer of the film below.
Earth Day Eve 2021 Virtual Celebration
Yes, technically you missed it, but you can still check out this National Geographic special from Wednesday night that featured performances from Aurora, Angélique Kidjo, José González, Maggie Rogers, My Morning Jacket, Rostam, Valerie June, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ziggy Marley.
Watch the special below.
Amy Allen & Friends Celebrate Earth Day!
Singer/artist Allen is releasing her moving song “One” today, debuting it during a livestream event featuring pals Vance Joy, Alexander23, Chelsea Cutler, Fletcher and more. The show will support a variety of global environmental change organizations, including Surfrider Foundation, Ecosia, Greenpeace, and Parks Project.
“‘One’ is a song for anyone who feels helpless in this terrifyingly big and flawed world,” Allen said in a statement. “I wrote this as a reminder to myself that even when I feel like a drop in the ocean, it’s still important to try to make a change, no matter how small.”
Tune in to the stream at 12:00 p.m. ET below.
Cake for the Forests
Indie rock stalwarts Cake are celebrating the day with the launch of a reforestation plan in conjunction with nonprofit global reforestation organization One Tree Planted called #CAKEforests. The initiative will help raise desperately needed funds to plant trees, sustain healthy communities and help restore the environment in three U.S. regions devastated by last year’s wildfires: California, Oregon and Washington.
The massive 2020 fires scorched more than 10.2 million acres and the campaign has reserved 16,000 trees on behalf of the band to be planted this year in each state; click here to plant a tree in the Cake forest. According to a release, every dollar donated will plant a tree in one of three reforestation projects in California’s Slater Fire Restoration, Oregon’s Replanting Within Canyon Mountain Fire Complex and Rail Fire and Washington’s Cougar Creek Wildfire Reforestation.
“Humans evolved alongside trees,” says Cake co-founder/singer John McCrea in a statement. “What we are has to do with them, and we eliminate them only at our peril.”
NOW: Climate Action Campaign
The year-long NOW campaign from Propeller aimed at generating millions of actions for the climate in 2021 kicks off today. It will find artists such as Lil Dicky, The National, Julie Baker, A-Trak, The Head and the Heart, Young the Giant and many more arranging one-of-a-kind experiences to incentivize their fans to take action for the environment, from planting trees to donating and getting involved on the ground.
Dicky is offering a trip to an exotic location to see the impacts of climate change firsthand, while A-Trak, Beach Bunny, Baker, Kill The Noise, Lord Huron, The Head And The Heart, The Midnight, The National and Young The Giant will design custom Solé Bicycles. In addition, AC Slater, Bob Moses, Craze, Lauren Ruth Ward and Lawrence are dangling prizes and virtual experiences and Sub Pop Records and Z2 Comics are donating exclusive prize packs.
“Climate change is only going to be solved with sustained attention and pressure from all of us, and we see this campaign as a way to help energize the movement,” said Propeller founder Brandon Deroche in a statement. “Propeller builds campaigns around the most pressing issues of our time, and creates opportunities for anyone — artists, influencers and fans alike — to get involved and use their platform for good.”
Dicky, who has donated more than $1.2 million to climate causes to date via proceeds from this 2019 all-star song “Earth” added, “Climate change is an incredibly important cause for me. I’m excited to get fans that may be new to the cause activated through the NOW Climate Action Campaign, and give them the chance to see the impact of climate change first hand.”
Hayley Williams Closes the Water Gap
The Paramore singer and solo star has teamed up with social issues platform Collina Strada to create a limited-edition merch line available on the live stream shopping platform NTWRK on Earth Day. The sale will include a rhinestone-studded water bottle aimed at lowering plastic water bottle consumption that drops at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday on NTWRK, as well as upcycled, hand-dyed t-shirts to help reduce the environmental impact of post-consumer clothing.
Shakira Urges You to Give Earth a Shot
Shakira joined Prince William, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Yao Ming and others on the Earthshot Prize Council in penning an open letter calling for the world to channel the same spirit of innovation we’ve harnessed to fight COVID-19 to repair the planet. “As a Member of The @EarthshotPrize Council, I’m calling on the world to Give the Earth a Shot This #EarthDay, let’s be inspired by the innovation of the past year & work together to repair our planet,” tweeted Shakira.
The Earthshot Prize is aiming to kick-start a global initiative to discover and roll out at-scale solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems; see the full letter here.
Shawn Mendes Talks to Astronauts
Mendes went live Thursday morning for a chat with Nasa astronauts in space to talk Earth day, climate change and how they study Earth from space. You can see the #ConnectedByEarth conversation here.
Sir Paul McCartney Has an Important Reminder
A long-time advocate for a meat-free, environmentally conscious lifestyle, McCartney had a very simple message in his Earth Day tweet early Thursday morning. “Celebrating #EarthDay. It’s the only one we’ve got!”
