Earth Day is a day to celebrate the planet and encourage people to be more environmentally friendly. Slovenia celebrated it with several environmental activities. This year the specific focus was on creating better environmental and climate literacy and educating people – both children and adults – on environmental issues.
Tree at Lake Bohinj
More than a billion people around the world celebrated Earth Day on Saturday, April 22nd, with the theme ‘Trees for the Earth’. So far 3 million trees have been planted in 32 countries with the goal of planting 7.8 billion trees by the 50th Anniversary in 2020, now that’s a target.
Slovenia is widely recognized as one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly countries in the world. According to the Environmental Performance Index, which ranks 180 countries on how they protect human health and ecosystems, Slovenia is the 5th most environmentally friendly country on Earth.
The 20 most environmentally-friendly countries:
1. Finland – EPI rating: 90.68
2. Iceland – 90.51
3. Sweden – 90.43
4. Denmark – 89.21
5. Slovenia – 88.98
6. Spain – 88.91
7. Portugal – 88.63
8. Estonia – 88.59
9. Malta – 88.48
10. France – 88.2
11. New Zealand – 88
12. United Kingdom – 87.38
13. Australia – 87.22
14. Singapore – 87.04
15. Croatia – 86.98
16. Switzerland – 86.93
17. Norway – 86.9
18. Austria – 86.64
19. Ireland – 86.6
20. Luxembourg – 86.58
Top of the eco-chart is Finland. Following close behind are Iceland, Sweden and Denmark, three countries renowned for their sound environmental policies. More surprising for some, perhaps, is the presence of Slovenia, Spain, Portugal and Malta in the top 10.
Over the centuries we have mercilessly utilized and depleted the Earth’s resources. Our sheer ignorance has begun to cause severe problems like depletion of the Ozone layer, death of rivers due to dumping of industrial waste, global warming etc. We must realize the danger and the good news is that there are simple steps that can be taken to help the environment and support it:
– walk to work, cycle or take public transport,
– use a reusable coffee cup,
– take a tote bag to the shop,
– carry a reusable water bottle,
– buy local produce,
– recycle,
– or plant a tree.
These might be small steps but when a billion people do it together, one can definitely see the results.
A Linden tree in a countryside landscape
The linden tree is a symbol of the Slovenian nation and its role and importance stretch back in the period before there was any real sense of national awareness. In Slovenia you can find several very old linden trees, some are even supposed to be more than 700 years old. The tradition holds that, since time immemorial, people have planted linden trees to mark special occasions.
