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 50th Anniversary of Earth Day Souvenir Sheet, Scott 1739 (2020) April 22 is Earth Day, a celebration focused on the need to conserve the Earth’s natural resources. In 2020, Vatican City issued a souvenir sheet to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which originated in 1970. In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace. One of the driving events behind the establishment of Earth Day in the United States was a massive oil spill off the coast of California at Santa Barbara in March of 1969. The scope of the spill and the devastation it created drove US Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who flew over the 800-square-mile oil slick created by the spill, to propose a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. Designed to demonstrate support for environmental protection, Earth Day now includes a wide range of events on a global scale. The Earth Day stamp issue by Vatican City also coincided with the fifth anniversary of the issuance of the Papal encyclical Laudato si’ (Praise Be To You) from Pope Francis in 2015. In this, his second encyclical (subtitled "On care for our common home"), the pope criticizes the impacts of consumerism and irresponsible development, and the subsequent environmental degradation these actions cause. He calls on all the people of the world to take "swift and unified global action" to protect the environment. The souvenir sheet, shown at the top of this article, was created by artist Joyce Chiarella. The design aims to "represent everywhere the beauty and harmony of creation: in the forms, the sounds and colours of nature". REFERENCES: |
