Twitter propels the conversations on environment this 50th Earth Day

NEW DELHI: This year has so many firsts and experiences like never before due to COVID-19, and so one isn’t surprised if the entire globe is walking about the environment today, the globe’s 50th Earth Day.

As people are restricted to staying indoors and have a shared collective experience globally, people have taken to Twitter to celebrate the Earth.

The conversation on the social media platform has spiked 285 per cent around the discussion of ‘action’ and ‘innovation’ in sustainability. There have been more than 1 million tweets tying this period of COVID-19 to impact on the environment and 20 million unique tweets about the environment since last Earth Day.

Ahead of Earth Day, the platform had launched a new #EarthDay2020 emoji to encourage environmental conversations. To commemorate the Day, Twitter India, Let Me Breathe and Earth Day Network are partnering for #FiftyForFifty: a campaign that highlights 50 years of Earth Day and gives a common platform to 50 crowdsourced steps that we can take in our daily life to combat climate change and live sustainably.

Actress Dia Mirza and singer-actor Monica Dogra too participated in a Live Twitter Panel on April 21, 2020, to talk about 50 years of Earth Day and climate action. You can also watch the chat from last night to take a few points that Dia Mirza has advised for sustainable living.

Of late, the pandemic is keeping people indoors resulting in reduced industrial and human activities, leading to the rejuvenation of nature. The social media platform has been witnessing volumes of discussions around how the lockdown has given the environment a chance to revive its lost glory.

While people continue to spend time at home, they are taking up #BalconyBirding and reading books on nature.

Reading Nature, a book club on Twitter, asked its followers to talk about their favourite #naturebooks on Earth Day, and people are sharing some interesting reads through videos.

To bring out more focused conversations on sustainability, Let Me Breathe has also launched three #FiftyForFifty Twitter Lists on topics like Balcony Birders, Climate Activists and Sustainable Fashion. A Twitter List is a curated group of Twitter accounts. You can create your own Lists or subscribe to Lists created by others. Viewing a List timeline will show you a stream of Tweets from only the accounts on that List, usually around a particular topic of your choice.

Organisations such as the UNESCO MGIEP, WWF India and Earth Day Network India are organising virtual concerts with performances from the finest musicians as a tribute to the wonderful planet we live on. (IANSlife)

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