Earth Day and Global Environmental Policy
During the UNESCO Conference held in San Francisco in 1969, environmental activists proposed the annual celebration of Earth Day. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is a global event that brings together events and demonstrations in support of environmental protection. This year, Earth Day was celebrated on April 22 and focused on providing information and education about the pressing need to change societal habits surrounding plastic. The widespread use of plastic has become a major global issue because of the contamination that ensues following their relatively brief commercial use. Plastic bottles and straws that are not properly recycled find their way to rivers and oceans where they harm the ecosystem and do not decompose for thousands of years. Therefore, campaigns in favor of the use of reusable shopping bags, reusable bottles, and even alternatives to plastic straws are gaining increasing momentum.
Earth Day and Global Environmental Policy
Between April 23 and 25, French President Emmanuel Macron will be visiting the United States for the first time since his election last year. The historic state visit of the French President to the United States comes on the heels of Earth Day, an occasion meant to highlight the environmental issues that seem to be the main divergence point between Presidents Trump and Macron. President Trump is known for his efforts advancing energy independence through fossil fuels and skepticism surrounding climate change. Meanwhile, President Macron is a fervent defender of the Paris Climate Accord and has voiced his concern for the adverse effects of climate change. Otherwise, Presidents Trump and Macron seem to have a close personal and political relationship on issues such as Syria and the Middle East. It remains to be seen whether environmental issues will be discussed during this week’s state visit by the French President.
The Republic of France has a total territory of 643.801 square kilometers, which is approximately the same size as Texas. Geographically, metropolitan France consists mainly of plains and some rolling hills with some mountain ranges throughout the southeast. Similarly, metropolitan France has a temperate seasonal climate with Mediterranean characteristics throughout the south. Currently, France has a total population of 67.1 million citizens with an average age of 41 years. Likewise, about 80% of the French population lives in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Paris with almost 11 million inhabitants. In economic terms, the country has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$2.8 billion (PPP), which is divided into 2% agriculture, 19% manufacturing, and 79% services. Moreover, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 3% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 18% and services employ another 79%. Furthermore, in France, the agriculture industry utilizes 53% of the national territory, while another 29% is forested. Finally, in 1961, the cereals market in France utilized 9.1 million hectares of land and yielded 20.8 million metric tons annually. Meanwhile, in 2016, the country devoted 9.6 million hectares of land to cereals production and yielded approximately 54.7 million metric tons.
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