The 2012 Earth Day event in Washington DC was held at the National Mall (in front of the Capitol) and sponsored by Earth Day Network. The theme was “Mobilize the Earth and demand a sustainable future” and it featured music, entertainment, and speakers such as EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Bill McKibben. Many organizations (NGOs, governmental institutions, UN agencies, and others) also set up stands to feature their work.
The Earth Charter International Secretariat, invited by the Humans Impact Institute, participated in this event with other partners of the Mobilize US Coalition. This coalition is organizing several actions in support of Rio+20, among them a petition for President Barack Obama to attend the Summit and for the US to show environmental leadership there.
This coalition had the opportunity to present its work related to Rio+20 at the tent of iMatter, one of the coalition partners. As part of the Earth Charter presentation, the video of the campaign “See the world through the Earth Charter lenses” was featured, in addition to a short presentation on values and ethics for sustainability.
Although thousands of people were expected at this big Earth Day event, bad weather (strong rain and low temperatures) prevented many people from staying outside and enjoying all the activities.