PHL greeted 'advanced' Earth Day by Google, US embassy

In spite of Malacañang's decree to defer Earth Day in the Philippines by three days, Filipinos still got online goodies for the occasion from search giant Google and the United States Embassy in Manila. Google's Philippine homepage (www.google.com.ph) featured an animated Google Doodle featuring a waterfall, trees, and animals to mark Earth Day. It was similar to the animated doodle on Google's main site (www.google.com). Before clicking on the doodle to reveal search results for "Earth Day," you can hover the mouse pointer over parts of the doodle to see more animation. Hovering the mouse over the lion, for example, makes it "roar," while hovering over the pandas make them play. If hovered over, the koala will climb up and down the tree. Other hidden animations include a fish coming out when the mouse hovers over the water; a hopping frog; a bird and butterfly coming out from the trees. Embassy greetings Meanwhile, the US Embassy posted a "Happy Earth Day!" greeting on its Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/manila.usembassy), and a link to the Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org). "Today is Earth Day," the Embassy said in a second Earth Day message on its Facebook page. The second message featured a link to Earth Day events for mobile devices. President Benigno Aquino III had ordered this year's Earth Day moved to Monday because it coincided with Good Friday. Earth Day: A brief history Earth Day seeks to inspire awareness and appreciation for the natural environment. US Senator Gaylord Nelson set the celebration in motion when he announced a "national teach-in on the environment". "As a result, on the 22nd of April (in 1970), 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values," the Earth Day network explained. Earth Day 1990 gave a big boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The movement went global in 1990 and currently mobilizes 200 million people in 141 countries, lifting environmental issues on to the world stage. "The fight for a clean environment continues in a climate of increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day. We invite you to be a part of Earth Day and help write many more victories and successes into our history. Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grassroots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come," the Earth Day Network said. - TJD, GMA News