COUNTY LIFE
Earth Day celebrates 50th with virtual program
EARTH DAY 2020 BRINGS TOGETHER AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLECTION OF VOICES INCLUDING ZAC EFRON, PATRICIA ESPINOSA, AL GORE, DENIS HAYES, ALEX HONNOLD, VAN JONES, ANIL KAPOOR, JOHN KERRY, PRINCE ALBERT OF MONACO, AND KYRA SEDGWICK TO SHARE THEIR SUPPORT FOR OUR PLANET FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Special Earth Day Address from His Holiness Pope Francis to be included in Earth Day
“The Earth is our environment to protect and the garden to tend to.” – His Holiness Pope Francis, Earth Day 2015
Washington, D.C., April 15, 2020 — With the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day (April 22) fast approaching, now more than ever we need to connect as a global community united in our fight to protect the health and welfare of the planet and its people.
In support of this global movement, illustrious and preeminent religious leaders, environmental advocates, celebrities, musicians and government officials will be celebrating Earth Day with a variety of first-person video pieces demonstrating their commitment to our planet.
These messages, talks, teach-ins and performances will be part of Earth Day Network’s robust 15-hour (9am ET to 11pm ET) live digital event on the homepage for the planet, earthday.org, as well as part of a comprehensive social media partnership with Twitter (#EarthDay2020), and as part of Earth Day Live.
The incredible lineup of personal video messages for Earth Day 2020 includes:
- Ed Begley, Jr., Actor, Environmentalist, Global Advisory Committee Member
- Zdeno Chara, Captain of the Boston Bruins
- Sylvia Earle, World-renowned Marine Biologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence
- Zac Efron, Actor and Global Advisory Committee Member
- Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary
- Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Jerome Foster II, White House Climate Striker and Founder of OneMillionOfUs
- Al Gore, Former Vice President, Global Environmental Advocate, and Award-winning Filmmaker
- Denis Hayes, Organizer of the first Earth Day, Board Chair Emeritus of Earth Day Network and President, CEO, The Bullitt Foundation
- Alex Honnold, Free Climber and star of Oscar-Winning Documentary, Free Solo
- Van Jones, News Commentator
- Licypriya Kangujam, Youth Climate Activist and Founder of The Child Movement
- Anil Kapoor, Award-winning Actor, Producer, and Global Advisory Committee Member
- Ricky Kej, Grammy-Winning Musician and Global Advisory Committee Member
- John Kerry, 68th Secretary of State, Global Advisory Committee Member, Founder of World War Zero
- Thomas Lovejoy, Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University.
- Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org
- His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, Global Advisory Committee Member
- Paul Nicklen, National Geographic Filmmaker, Photographer and Marine Biologist
- Kyra Sedgwick, Actress, Producer, Director, and Global Advisory Committee Member
- Alexandria Villaseñor, Founder and Executive Director of Earth Uprising
- Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus and Global Advisory Committee Member
“This unprecedented time has stopped us all in our tracks,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “As each of us ensures that those around us are safe and well, it is in a momentous opportunity to examine our individual and collective relationship with the natural world and how our activities impact the planet. The way forward is hopeful, and we have an opportunity to forever change how we interact with the environment in our own backyard and our community at large.”
Earth Day 2020 is comprised of a multi-faceted program intended to activate individuals to support their planet in a safe and responsible way during the coronavirus pandemic. Titled “24 Hours of Action,” Earth Day Network will reveal an action an hour that individuals can do to support our planet. Earth Day 2020 also includes a 15-hour digital Earth Day Live program on earthday.org, featuring long-form and short-form content with interactive programming, live appearances by religious leaders, celebrities, musicians, as well as live teach-ins with preeminent scientists and advocates.
In addition, individuals can participate in Earth Challenge 2020, a global citizen science initiative that will help build an open source database on air quality and plastic pollution using an app on your smartphone from the safety of your home.
About Earth Day Network
Earth Day 2020 comes 50 years after the first Earth Day which, in 1970, mobilized over 20 million citizens to demand action on the environmental challenges of the time. Today, Earth Day is observed in around 190 countries and close to 100,000 organizations. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. To learn more, visit earthday.org.
All members of the Tales ‘N’ Trails Museum or those interested in learning more about Montague County’s largest museum are invited to attend the annual membership meeting at 2 p.m. on May 31.
There will be a short business meeting to elect new directors afterwhich Dr. Sergio Ayala will discuss the museum’s newest archaeological exhibit. He also will conduct, “What’s Your Point?” where guests are invited to bring in artifacts for Dr. Ayala to examine.
All membership are due in May and there are several levels from which to chose starting at $35 a year. TNT is supported by its members along with donations, fundraising and grants. The museum celebrates its 15th years showcasing Montague County’s unique history.
The museum is located at 1522 E. U.S. Highway 82 in Nocona. Call 825-5330 with questions.
The 2025 senior class of Bellevue High School will be the first area graduates to walk the stage to receive their diplomas on May 16, followed by Saint Jo on May 22.
Coming in your May 22 Bowie News see the graduation keepsake section that features photos of graduates from Bowie, Bellevue, Nocona, Saint Jo, Gold-Burg, Forestburg and Prairie Valley Schools.
In this edition meet the honor graduates of Bellevue and Saint Jo High Schools.
Read the full story in the May 15 edition
Spring storms have been creating dangerous conditions for the past two weeks, and Mother Nature continues to douse North Texas with rain this week.
For January through April the City of Bowie water plant staff recorded 14.56 inches of rain, including a whopping 11.76 inches in April alone. For the first six days of May the rain has totaled 1.55 inches.
Nocona received a bit more rain for this period, a total of 19.28 inches according to Texas Mesonet. In April it recorded 9.89 inches and in March 3.25 inches. For the first six days of May 4.36 inches was recorded.
Lake Amon G. Carter is still more than 100% full and threatening to go
over the emergency spillway when it reaches 927 msl. The lake is considered full at 920 msl and as of May 6 it was 924.47 msl.
Last week, the city sent out flood warnings for those downstream in the path of water that could flow out of the lake across this spillway. One month ago the lake was full at 920.06
City Emergency Management Coordinator Kirk Higgins said Monday as of now no water has come out of the spillway, but he does not expect that to continue if the rain does not stop. The lake continues to be closed due to flooding.
Lake Nocona was at 828.44 msl on May 6 and is considered full at 827.5 msl. Just one month ago the lake was 88.4% full at 825.60 msl. Its boat ramps were closed briefly last week due to flooding, but have since reopened.
Last week’s heavy rainfall continues to plague city streets and low-lying areas. While not unexpected the creek that flows in the Nelson Street area east toward Pillar was raging full of storm water last week topping the creek bed going into the streets and under nearby houses.
Public Works Director Stony Lowrance said a section of Rock near Pillar has been closed, although Pillar remains open. A section of the curb and road on the creekside has broken away and fallen into the ditch creating hazardous road conditions. A small part of the street had been coned off as a small section had caved in last month.
Lowrance said they are keeping a close eye on this area as rains continue, noting this is not an unexpected problem as the Rock and Pillar Street has been debated in the city council as being the next major capital project for the city. Nearby Nelson Street drainage was completed in late 2024 and while it alleviated flooding issues in that area, it also is sending more water down to an intersection where the culverts are in the same deteriorated and eroded conditions as those were under Nelson Street that were replaced.
Top photo: A section of the curb and street near Pillar and Rock has collapsed into the creek bed following last week’s rains. (Photo by Rosie Cole)
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