Earth Day is not officially until Sunday, but since we are celebrating it all weekend long here in St. Cloud starting today at the Health & Fitness Expo and 5K at SCSU, I figure now is a good time to brush up on some Earth Day Trivia.

Earth day is important.  Remember - there is one "mother" that we all share and must take care of forever - Mother Nature.

1) The world's first national park was started in 1872 in which country?
A)  Yellowstone National Park - in the U.S.  There are now over 4000 National Parks and Reserves, worldwide.

2) Where was the first major international conference on environmental issues?
A) Sweden -The first major international conference on environmental issues was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations.

3) Why did founder John McConnell choose April 21 as Earth Day?
A)The March Vernal Equinox is that day, and he thought using the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, to be a good date to celebrate the earth.

4) Who is the patron saint of ecologists?
A) Saint Francis.  In 1980, Pope John Paul II proclaimed him the patron saint of ecologists. In art, the emblems of St. Francis are the wolf, the lamb, the fish, birds, and the stigmata.

5) Twenty years after the Stockholm Conference, the United Nations held what is popularly known as the "Earth Summit" in what country?
A) Brazil.  The UN Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, and was the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

Now go impress your friends with some new-found Earth Day knowledge - and don't forget to love your mother!

 

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