South East Asia (SEA)

Celebrated on 22 April each year since its inception in 1970 to raise awareness about environmental issues, Earth Day has become a massive movement that unites people from over 193 countries. In the Philippines, it’s actually Earth Days — yep plural — as the whole month of April is considered Earth Month, with a host of activities like tree-planting and clean-up drives. This year’s theme, “Planet versus Plastics,” strikes a particularly urgent chord. Plastic pollution has become a global crisis, threatening the very health of our planet and its inhabitants. According to a 2023 report by the World Wildlife Fund, an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans each year. This plastic breaks down into microplastics, tiny fragments less than 5 millimeters in size, which are now being found everywhere — from the deepest trenches in the ocean to the peak of Mount Everest. These microplastics are ingested by marine life, causing harm and even death. A 2020 study published in S...