Earth Day is observed across the globe every year on April 22nd. Founded in 1970 by university student and environmental activist, Denis Hayes, its aim is to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environment, change human behavior, and provoke policy changes.
Earth Day marked the beginning of a new environmental movement. In 1970, over 25 million Americans participated, with the common goal of achieving a healthy, sustainable environment, in the form of peaceful demonstrations in support of environmental reform. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the destruction of the environment.
Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries, celebrated by over half a billion people each year and is coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network. Hungary has celebrated the day since 1990.
Did You Know…?
1989 saw the country’s first mass demonstrations since the crush of the 1956 public uprising. Mass outrage was sparked due to the construction of a dam in one of the most beautiful parts of the Danube, The Danube Bend. The protestors won and construction was cancelled. Its partly-built remains can still be seen.
Budapest holds the world record for the most participants during the cycling event Critical Mass. In 2008, as part of the city’s Earth Day celebrations, a record 80,000 cyclists took to the city’s sunny streets to promote cycling, awareness of climate change and to criticize traffic mismanagement.
Going Green in Budapest
Ökoszolgálat is an environmental advice service, and they run a shop near the parliament (Zöld Zug) where you can buy eco-friendly cleaning products…they even sell biodegradable diapers.
www.okoszolgalat.hu
Ecotours organize nature tours around Central and Eastern Europe. Their ecotourism aims at providing natural holidays for bird, butterfly and nature enthusiasts in a way that respects the environment and contributes to its protection. www.ecotours.hu
The biggest organic shop here is Mediline, which is slightly out of town but cheap – it’s where many of the city’s bio stores (bio means organic) buy their stock.
www.mediline.hu
In the city center, head to the top floor of Mammut II Shopping Center. Here you’ll find organic everything including make-up, food, fruit and veg, cosmetics and a café. The main shop is Bioritmus.
www.bioritmus.com
For advice on recycling here, see the Good to Know section at www.funzine.hu, or www.fkf.hu/portal/page/portal/fkf/Google_terkep for a map of recycling spots in the city.
For general advice about all things green, see: