I Believe in Yesterday!

While President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore spent Earth Day talking up the environment and taking jabs at each other, how was the rest of the world celebrating the occasion? In Indonesia, environmentalists blocked traffic and planted trees; in Thailand, some 15,000 Buddhists prayed for the Earth; in the Philippines, cyclists filled streets in the capital city; and back in the U.S. of A., Susan Sarandon, Kevin Bacon, Patrick Stewart, and others took part in an Earth Day Network event held at the U.N. in New York City to encourage world leaders to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa later this year. Yesterday marked the 32nd anniversary of Earth Day, pioneered by Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes. Earth Day Network (Grist's sponsor organization, it should be noted) now works with some 5,000 organizations in 184 countries.