There are actually two wonderful environmental celebrations going on across the world today. The first is World Environmental Health Day and the second is World Rivers Day. They don’t always fall in the same date, but they did this year. World Environmental Health Day is always celebrated on September 26, but World Rivers Day is celebrated on the fourth Saturday of September yearly. Today I’m going to discuss World Environmental Health Day. I’ll talk about World Rivers Day tomorrow. Both are important days for those of us who love Mother Nature and the environment, so I want each celebration to get it’s fair share of attention.

World Environmental Health Day was established in September 26, 2011 by the International Federation of Environmental Health council at a meeting in Indonesia. Each year the celebration revolves around a certain theme. This year’s theme is “Prioritizing Environmental Health for healthier communities in the global recovery”. Put another way, it is important to understand that the health of the environment is an important factor in human health and the health of the economy. Without a healthy environment, it is impossible to have healthy communities. Nothing could emphasize this better than the current corona virus pandemic. It is urgent that every one of us realize that we cannot continue destroying our environment and expect to remain healthy. Did you know that even before COVID-19 almost 25 percent of all human deaths can be attributed to environmental issues such as air pollution, water pollution, and exposure to toxic chemicals?

So how should we celebrate this important day? There are a number of online webinars and contests that are going on. To find them just Google World Environmental Health Day. You can also take a walk or hike in your local State or National Park. Perhaps consider planting some trees or plants that can help improve your local air quality. If you have to go somewhere local today consider walking or riding a bicycle rather than driving. There are plenty of other great ways to celebrate, too. But most importantly, we need to try to amend our behavior every day to be better to our environment. After all, what good are money or a fancy car or house if you have no planet to use it on!

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