Earth Week 2024
Each April, the world comes together to celebrate our home planet, Earth.
Earth Day was first recognized on April 22, 1970 after the nation and the world witnessed more than 4.2 million gallons of oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The spill spoiled a 35-mile stretch of coastline, killing more than 3,800 birds and causing more than $175 million (adjusted) in damages. The incident helped to establish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory now serves as the hub of activities at Arizona State University that honors Earth Day each April 22. Since 2021, beginning with the dedication of the Walton Center for Planetary Health, ASU and the Global Futures Laboratory have welcomed celebrated speakers including Vice President Al Gore, Dr. Jane Goodall, Peter Seligmann, Ukrainian activist Zoya Lytvyn, conservation author Enric Sala, climate action entrepreneur Leah Lizarondo and peace and leadership expert Maya Soetoro-Ng.
We invite you to join us as we continue to discover, understand and celebrate our relationship with our planet.
The Global Futures Earth Day Celebration is Monday, April 22. Learn about and register for this event and many other ASU activities that are a part of honoring Earth day in the schedule below.
Key topics
Anticipating Futures
Creating a habitable, sustainable global future requires a multi-disciplinary, intersectional approach that brings in expertise from a variety of disciplines.
Youth Leadership
Young voices are essential to conversations about our collective global future; they are the ones who will live with the outcomes of the decisions we make today.
Creating Inspiration
While a changing climate can bring up complex feelings like anxiety or sadness, it can also be a catalyst for optimism and innovation.
31 Days of 110+
Last year’s heat wave obliterated the records. How did that impact those who live and work in the heat and how are researchers, local communities and other stakeholders are working on solutions?
Why Earth Day matters
If you put millions, and then hopefully billions of tiny, ethical choices together, the cumulative effect moves us towards the kind of change we need to see. More and more young people understand that.
Schedule
We have a great lineup of events this year to celebrate and acknowledge Earth Week. Take a look at our calendar and be sure to register!
Feeling nostalgic?
Revisit past Earth Day events at ASU.
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. AZ time
Sun Devil Hospitality and ASU Sustainability Practices welcome you to join us on for the Cakes and Cacti event. This event will be taking place at the Garden Commons at the Polytechnic Campus. Come and enjoy locally sourced mesquite pancakes and sustainably sourced beverages.
10 – 11:30 a.m. AZ time
In the third event of this series, discover how green banks can increase private investments in climate solutions in the Southwest. Join Edward Chu, Special Advisor to President Crow on Climate and Environment Solutions, with a distinguished group of green financing experts as they explore ways to foster inclusive climate solutions through innovative financing models and mobilizing public financing to spur private capital investments for sustainable development projects in the Southwest.
Interview with Climate Journalist Abrahm Lustgarten
1 – 2 p.m. AZ time
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory is pleased to welcome Abrahm Lustgarten, the author of On the Move: The Overheating Earth and Uprooting of America. Lustgarten will be joined in conversation by ASU’s Ten Across Initiative executive director Wellington “Duke” Reiter for a discussion about Lustgarten’s latest work that shows how places many of us now call home are at risk and how we’ll deal with the consequences. The New York Times recently said that On the Move “convincingly demonstrates, with all the heat and disruption coming our way” that Americans need to understand and appreciate the growing climate migration crisis.
11 a.m. – noon AZ time
Actress Alysa Reiner is perhaps best known for her role on the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, but on April 18th she will be partnering with ASU Humanities Lab students as a sustainable fashion panelist alongside fashion and beauty industry experts including Ralph Lauren senior product management manager – Silvia Camplone, Green Living Magazine publisher -Dorie Morales, CEO of Ecofashion Corp -Mari Zaroff, Fashionkind CEO – Nina Farran and moderated by former West Coast Bureau Chief of Women’s Wear Daily – Marcy Medina. Humanities Lab | Sustainable Fashion students have organized this nuanced discussion as a way of placing a spotlight on big industry practices and sustainable efforts towards betterment for our collective future.
Sustainable Fashion Eco-Chic Design Contest and Fashion Show
6:30 p.m. AZ time
With attention to concerns around the havoc that segments of the fashion industry can have on the earth (dye run-off, emissions, water over-use) —a team of Humanities Lab | Sustainable Fashion classmates are leveraging their coursework as an opportunity to host an “EcoCHIC Design Contest.” Design entrants are invited to use vintage fabric, upcycling hacks, and/ or eco-friendly materials as they create their final runway designs. As incentivization to get as many designers as possible to enter and to think in an eco-friendly manner, one of the students from the Lab’s team (who owns her own fashion company) has partnered with some of her industry allies to together offer $1,000 in prize money to the contest winner. The submission deadline has been extended and is accepting submissions (including photos) through April 13th. Downtown Tempe’s local fashion incubator, FABRIC, has agreed to host the final fashion runway show on April 19th where the winner will be announced.
Earth Day Celebration including the State of Global Futures Address
9:30 a.m. to noon AZ time
The 2024 ASU Global Futures Earth Day Celebration will include a number of presentations and panels including:
- State of Global Futures Address presented by Peter Schlosser, vice president and vice provost of Global Futures. Gain insights on the activities and initiatives soon to be and currently underway across the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.
- Perspective by Young Leaders panel featuring students and alumni who are driving impactful change now.
- Climate Almanac and Scirens short film presented by Ed Finn from the Center for Science and the Imagination.
- 31 Days at 110+ A look at various first-hand perspectives from those who directly experienced last summer’s record heat wave.
Lunch will be on hand in the Walton Center atrium directly following the presentations with a delicious variety of sustainable food options.
ASU Earth Day Walk – Walk the Talk
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. AZ time
Join us at the ASU Earth Day Walk – Step Into Sustainability, a unique opportunity to embrace eco-friendly practices and celebrate our planet. Ideal for eco-enthusiasts, corporate groups committed to sustainability, and volunteers passionate about making a difference, this event welcomes all who wish to contribute to a greener tomorrow.
School of Sustainability MSUS Capstone Presentations
3 – 5 p.m. AZ time
Join pending graduates and faculty of the School of Sustainability in the Walton Center for Planetary Health Auditorium for the final Spring 2024 MSUS Capstone Presentations on projects including sustainable events, decarbonizing fossil-fuel dependent industries, clean energy workforce development and wast management practices.
5:15 – 7:30 p.m. AZ time
Join Slow Food Phoenix and Arizona State University partners for a viewing of the 2023 documentary, We’re All Plastic People Now, directed by Rory F. Fielding.
5 – 7 p.m. AZ time
Learn from a panel of alumni from the College of Global Futures to explore their diverse pathways and insights into building meaningful careers with a global perspective. Hosted by the College of Global Futures Alumni Board in partnership with the Global Futures College Council.
Center for Biodiversity Outcomes: 10-year Anniversary Celebration
8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. AZ time
Please join the Center for Biodiversity outcomes in celebrating its success over their first ten years and help shape plans for future work. The event will include panel discussions, lightning talks, interactive activities and a photo exhibition on Indigenous sustainability in the Amazon. A celebratory lunch concludes the event.
ASU Zero Waste Blue Bag Sorting
8 – 10 a.m. AZ time
Join ASU Zero Waste as we celebrate Earth Month with a Blue Bag Sort day of service.
Join the conversation
ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory embodies an unwavering commitment to safeguarding our planet and fostering a future where well-being is not just a dream, but a reality.
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