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Wetlands – marshes, swamps, bogs, vernal pools, floodplains, and other wet
habitats - are areas of the earth that are inundated or saturated by water
during all or part of the year. They are found in every part of the world and in
every climate. Interior wetlands are located where surface water collects or
where underground water rises to the surface. Coastal wetlands are created by
tides.
A spectacular diversity of species lives in wetland ecosystems. Their inhabitants
include microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and
mammals. Many species of birds and mammals rely on wetlands for food,
water, and shelter, especially during migration and breeding.
Wetlands are essential to human existence as well,
providing:
•Flood control, holding heavy rainfall to prevent possible
flooding downstream;
•Clean water, filtering excess nutrients and pollutants
before runoff reaches open water;
•Groundwater replenishment, recharging underground
aquifers that billions of people depend on for drinking
water;
•Shoreline stabilization, protecting against erosion as
wetland plants hold soils in place and absorb the energy
of waves;
•Climate change mitigation, storing significant amounts
of carbon that, if released by the destruction of wetlands,
could contribute to global warming;
•Economic benefits, providing natural products such as
fish and shellfish, timber, edible plants, and medicines
derived from soils and plants.
•Wetlands are among the most important and productive
ecosystems on earth.
•Preserving them is vital.
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2005
2006
Deserts are varied and mysterious land areas of our planet, covering about one-fifth of
the earth’s surface. While most are hot and dry, such as the deserts found near the
Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, there are also cold and barren polar deserts whose
composition is ice, snow rocks and gravel.
Deserts are arid regions, generally receiving less than ten inches of precipitation a year,
or regions where the potential evaporation rate is twice as great as the precipitation.
In hot deserts most small animals and reptiles burrow during the day, and feed only at
night. The burrowing habit also applies to larger carnivores animals like the badger, kit
fox, and coyote.
Typically, deserts have a sparse but enormously diverse plant cover which sustains plant
and animal populations that have adapted over the centuries. The desert ecosystem,
although it may seem hardy, is actually quite fragile.
The United Nations has designated 2006 as “International Year of Deserts and
Desertification.”
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Takla Makan Desert
Pallid Harrier
Toad-headed Lizard
Long-eared Jerboa
Wild Ass
Gobi Desert
Saiga Antelope
Sonoran Desert
Iranian Desert
Saguaro Cactus
Cactus Pollinating Bat
Saguaro Flower
Honey Ants
Arabian Desert
Arabian Orax
Great Indian Bustard
Thar Desert
Blackbuck
Chihuahuan Desert
Beaded Lizard
Sahara Desert
Dromedary Camel
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Baobab Tree
Dung Beetle
Hoggar Mountains
Kalahari Desert
Ostriches
Scorpion
Web-footed Gecko
Welwitschia Plant
Springbok
Darkling Beetle
Namib Desert
Sidewinding Adder
Beetle Tracks
Patagonian Desert
Zebra Finches
Australian Deserts
Black-footed Rock Wallaby
Guanaco
Magellan Goose
Blue-tongued Skink
Sturt Pea
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2006
2007
Wildlife trafficking – the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts – has become a
soaring black market business.
An unchecked demand for exotic pets, rare foods, trophies, and traditional
medicines is driving many species to the brink of extinction and threatening
global biodiversity. Added to these concerns is the virulent rise in wildlife diseases
that can cross species and infect humans, and become public health hazards.
Here we have shown only a few of the endangered species – the wild tiger, shark,
whale, elephant, leopard, parrot, sea turtle, rhino, sturgeon, and the chiru, a
Tibetan antelope. Education and action are key components in the efforts to keep
our wildlife safe and protected by raising awareness of the problem and reducing
consumer demand.
The commitment of environmental and private sector groups worldwide,
foundations, and the U.S. government is playing a critical role to save and
preserve these endangered species. Please join in the effort to protect these
beautiful animals and to restore and enlarge their wilderness habitats.
1. Tiger
2. Parrot
3. Elephant
4. Whale
5. Sea Turtle
6. Rhinoceros
7. Chiru
8. Shark
9. Sturgeon
10. Leopard Back of Poster, Earth Day 2007
2008
In the world’s seas there is a thriving universe, a delicate marine ecosystem teeming with fish and
blooming coral structures. The reefs serve as the “rainforests” of the ocean, providing food and
shelter for many varieties of fish and invertebrate species. Their diversity and beauty have been a
source of wonder to all who have seen them. But, through the years, coral reefs have become
damaged, overfished, weathered, and polluted, to the point that immediate action needs to be
taken to heal them. These are international treasures that with time and care can be restored and
protected.
Humans have certainly contributed to reef destruction through industrial run-off pollution,
coastline development, and overfishing. Other factors, such as highly variable seasons with severe
storms, coral bleaching due to an increase in water temperature, earthquakes, and erupting
volcanoes are responsible, too. In the Pacific regions, the coral-eating Crown of Thorns starfish
plays a big part in the relationship between the reefs and the tender coral polyps that it consumes.
The natural enemy of this starfish is the beautiful triton, whose shells are over-collected. The
triton population is endangered or locally extinct in most areas of the Pacific, thus the ecological
balance is disrupted and the starfish are free to prey on the coral. The first International Year of
the Reef was in 1997 and it proved to be very successful. Eleven years later there is still an urgent
need to strengthen awareness, improve understanding, and generate action to provide effective
management strategies for saving the reefs of the world.
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Egret
Emperor Angelfish
Manatee
Spotted Grouper
Blue Tang Surgeonfish
French Grunt
Feather Stars
Butterfly Fish
Turret Coral
Spiny Puffer Fish
Trigger Fish
Coral Lobster
Staghorn Coral
Clarion Angelfish
Blue Starfish
Elkhorn Coral
Green Sea Turtle
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2008
2009
It would be difficult to imagine not including apples, melons, nuts, coffee, berries, avocados, sunflowers,
or chocolate in our diets but in order to enjoy these and other fruits and vegetables, pollinators must be
at work in our gardens and fields. Pollinators are those tiny, busy creatures that help plants reproduce.
As they travel from bloom to bloom in search of nectar, they transfer the essential pollen, fertilizing
each plant, and enabling the plants to produce their fruits and flowers.
In addition to the most prevalent pollinators, the bees, others include bats, butterflies, moths,
hummingbirds, flies, and beetles. Currently, 70 percent of the world’s leading crops benefit from animal
pollination.
Although pollination can be accomplished by wind or self-pollination, by far the most robust fruits,
vegetables, and nuts are pollinated by bees, the small ‘traveling farm workers.’ From almonds to zucchini,
there are between 2.15million and 3 million hives at work, courtesy of the U.S. pollination industry. And
what an industry it is! In the United States alone, commercial production of more than 100 crops
depends on honeybees. But a recent tragedy impacted the bees, the industry, and crops as well.
In the U.S. for example, in the fall of 2006, a mysterious threat to the bees was first noticed. For no
apparent reason bees have been abandoning their hives, leaving the queen and the young. This is called
colony collapse disorder (CCD).
Farmers, scientists, and environmentalists met this past year to promote public awareness for what
some say is a potential health crisis for the planet.
Scientists are not sure what has caused CCD, one suspect is an increased use of pesticides. Another
possibility is that the bees have become infected by a variety of ills-bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites.
In recent years a national conservation group has presented an annual Farmer-Rancher Pollinator
Conservation Award to a family or individual who has contributed to the protection of working and
wild lands. A recent winner developed farming practices that require smaller amounts of pesticides and
apply to them only after sunset so that the foraging bees would be safely home and not exposed to the
chemicals. In addition to protecting the bees, this farmer made a beautiful butterfly garden and planted
a wild-flower meadow on his property.
In our efforts to promote a more sustainable planet and to protect our ecosystems, there are some ways
we can help the pollinators.
While there is continued study and examination of the causes of pollinator decline, it is essential to
improve and protect the habitats of pollinating animals. We must make sure that there are ideas left
wild on the edges of cultivated land so that pollinators can make their homes. We must reduce the use
of powerful chemical insecticides. It will take attention, planning, and proper care to ensure that we can
continue to depend upon our natural pollinators to provide a vast array of agriculture for the world to
enjoy.
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2009
2010
“We should judge every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we
learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.
We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct.”
Some scientists believe that we lack knowledge of 90 percent of the earth’s creatures. With all the current research, study,
and efforts is much more to discover. As we work to uncover our planet’s mysteries, there is opportunity to protect and
preserve the variety and abundance of nature.
Biological diversity is often shortened to the word biodiversity. The term was first used by wildlife scientist and
conservationist Raymond F. Dasmanna in a 1970s book advocating nature conservation. In the 1980s it came into common
usage in science and environmental policy. Biodiversity is the variety among living organisms from all sources, and the
ecological complexes of which they are part. It encompasses diversity within species, between species, and of terrestrial,
marine and other aquatic ecosystems. In general, biodiversity is the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a particular
region of the world.
In his book, The Diversity of Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard entomologists Edward O. Wilson describes the crucial
importance of global conservation initiatives for our planet’s biodiversity: “The ethical imperative should therefore be, first
of all, prudence. We should judge every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand
what it means to humanity. We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct.
” While staggering statistics describe the loss of species, degradation of the planet’s ecosystems, and the threat of global
warming, there are bright spots as well. Concerned and talented people dedicate their lives to serving the biosphere and
biodiversity by working to restore wetlands and forests; to protect clean air and water. It is an interdependent world.
Biodiversity includes each living organism and integral parts of nature that surrounding them.
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African Elephant
Bee
Faviero Tree
Alerco Tree
Kirtland’s Warbler
Red Kite
Dragon Tree
Basking Malachite Damselfly
Phelsuma Antanosy Gecko
Large Copper Butterfly 13. Predaceous Diving Beetle
14. Jellyfish
Iberian Lynx
15. Purple Marsh Crab
Tasmanian Devil
16. Dlinza Forest Pinwheel Snail
17. Yellow-Margined Box Turtle
18. Golden Frog
19. Funcia di Basiliscu
20. Squaretail Coral Grouper
21. Sea Fan
22. Sea Sponge
Also pictured: spider, ant,
23. Giant Clam
grasshopper, earthworm,
24. Goral
various protozoans and archaea.
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2010
2011
“…he plants trees to benefit another generation.”
Caecilius Statius, c. 200 B.C.
We think of trees as an infinitely renewable resource. But forests are more than trees. Forests are complex and
integral to our planet, our economy, and our culture. They support entire ecosystems of plants, animals, and
insects.
Trees and forests act as natural climate regulators and carbon storage areas. Other benefits that forests
provide are pollination, seed dispersal, natural pest control, ecotourism, and aesthetic beauty. Some scientists
believe that forests may account for as much as 50 percent of the Earth’s biodiversity.
Tropical forests in particular sustain a diverse and interconnected community of plants and animals. As many
as one million species found in these forests could become endangered or extinct by the end of the 21st
century.
The destruction of forests adversely affects the environment by altering local rainfall patterns, accelerating soil
erosion, causing rivers to flood, and threatening millions of species with extinction.
We cannot afford to squander the riches that forests provide. Working to protect and sustain this wondrous
natural resource helps to preserve all life forms on planet earth.
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Blue Morpha Butterfly
Pitcher Plant
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Tamarin Monkey
Panther Chameleon
Baobab Tree
Mountain Gorilla
Jaguar
Leaf Beetle
Green Tree Python
Aphysemion Australe
(fish)
12. Amazon Flower
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2011
2012
The earth’s two ice-covered Polar Regions are as distinct from one another as they are
different from the rest of the earth. Both the northern Arctic and southern Antarctic
shelter diverse forms of life, particularly aquatic mammals. The Arctic is home to polar
bears, seals, narwhals, walruses, sea birds and cold-water coral reefs. The Antarctic, the
coldest place on earth, supports several species of penguins and birds, such as albatrosses
and petrels. Seals and whales are among the rare mammals that frequent Antarctica,
which is a frozen continent separate from any other major land mass.
Two species that have come to symbolize their polar homes – penguins in Antarctica and
polar bears in the Arctic – are threatened with extinction due to loss of their sea ice
habitats. The Arctic ice sheet is melting faster than scientists anticipated. Air and water
pollution also negatively affect polar biodiversity.
There are no human populations indigenous to Antarctica. But humans have inhabited the
Arctic regions of Alaska (USA), Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia for centuries.
Many Arctic indigenous communities are experiencing the negative effects of climate
change.
The Polar Regions are rich repositories of natural resources for scientific study and offer
opportunities for international cooperation in environmental research, security, and
conservation of plants and wildlife.
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Sandhill Crane
Snowy Owl
Arctic Tern
Arctic Fox 7. Purple Saxifrage
Lemming
8. Spider Saxifrage
Polar Bear 9. Dwarf Fireweed
10. Mountain Aven
11. Net-veined Willow
12. Antarctic Octopus
13. Blackline Prickleback
Narwhal
King Eider
Epimeria [Epimeria rubrieques]
Fairy Prion
Emperor Penguin
Ross Seal
Back of Poster, Earth Day 2012