Earth Day takes on greater urgency

Earth Day is an annual celebration every April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held in 1970, it now includes a wide range of events. The official theme for Earth Day 2022, which falls on Friday, is Invest In Our Planet.

It comes amid a series of sobering environmental and climate assessments. The most hopeful, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, said the world is potentially on track to keep global warming at, or a shade below, 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than preindustrial times. That achievement is conditional on all nations sticking to their carbon-reducing pledges.

Perhaps the most ambitious Earth Day event this year is the groundbreaking ceremony in Southern California for what is billed as the world’s largest wildlife crossing – a bridge over a major highway that will join two open areas and provide more room to roam for mountain lions and other animals hemmed in by urban sprawl.

When the span over U.S. 101 near Los Angeles is finished, drivers in the Liberty Canyon area will speed under the bridge 165 feet wide with brush and trees growing on top, seamlessly joining hillsides on both sides.