Earth Day Live was a three-day livestream commemorating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States. The event was streamed online as part of efforts to promote social distancing during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It is being referred to as the largest online mass mobilization in history.

Planning

The event ran from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET on April 22, 23, and 24th. The event was organized by youth climate activists, and featured

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

, Moby,

Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include '' True Romance'' (1993), ''Ed W ...

, Jane Fonda, Robby Romero,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

Stacey Abrams Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...

in conversation with Climate change activists, scientists, and journalists. The event also featured performances from musicians such as

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...

Emily Wells Emily Wells (born November 20, 1981) is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and producer whose genres encompass alternative, experimental, hip-hop and classical. In addition to playing instruments such as violin a ...

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...

, Jack Johnson, Questlove,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, among others.

Themes & Goals

Future Coalition Future Coalition is an American nonprofit organization consisting of a national network of youth-led organizations and initiatives centered around creating social change. About Future Coalition is a coalition of over 60 youth-led activist orga ...

executive director

Katie Eder Katie Eder (born ) is an American activist and social entrepreneur who founded and has led social impact ventures 50 Miles More, Kids Tales, and The Future Coalition, the latter where she is currently the Executive Director. In December 2019, ...

, who heads up the nine youth-led organizations that coordinated the event, said that Earth Day activism had to be rethought due to technological advances in modern times.

“It’s a time to really rethink our strategy, we are really looking at this as a way to reimagine what a social movement can look like in a digital age.” said
Katie Eder Katie Eder (born ) is an American activist and social entrepreneur who founded and has led social impact ventures 50 Miles More, Kids Tales, and The Future Coalition, the latter where she is currently the Executive Director. In December 2019, ...
.

The event focussed not only on climate change and environment like the traditional Earth Day, but also on society's ability to combat the effects of climate change, such as the COVID-19 Epidemic.{{Cite web, url=https://scienceline.org/2020/04/earth-day-online/, title=Will social distancing sidetrack the climate movement?, date=2020-04-16, website=Scienceline, language=en-US, access-date=2020-04-16

“It’s not just about the environment and the climate,” “It’s also about building a society and an economy that’s going to take care of the people who’ve been affected by this crisis, the people who are on the front lines of this crisis, whether that’s through health care efforts or economic efforts.” said Naina Agrawal-Hardin, of the Sunrise Movement, one of nine youth led organizations who organized the event.

References

Climate change films April 2020 events in the United States Films about the COVID-19 pandemic Cultural responses to the COVID-19 pandemic Environmental films Earth Day