Celebrating Earth Day: Renewable Energy for a Greener and Bluer Planet

April 22, 2025

This year marks the 55^th anniversary of the establishment of Earth Day. First celebrated on April 22^nd, 1970, the creation of Earth Day was greatly influenced by the work of Rachel Carson, a pioneer in the field of marine biology and author of Silent Spring (1962). In line with Carson’s call to build a safer, healthier future for all, the theme for Earth Day 2025 is Our Power, Our Planet. This global campaign urges everyone to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030. For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable coastal communities, access to renewable energy goes beyond just providing electricity. As recently noted by UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Hub, “It signifies self-reliance, climate resilience, economic diversification, and enhanced quality of life.”

The Legacy of Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson (1907–1964) was an American marine biologist, conservationist, and prolific author. Her scientific training and appreciation for nature fostered her deep understanding of the interconnectedness of living organisms and the fragile equilibrium of ecosystems. In 1936, Carson became the second woman hired by the US Bureau of Fisheries. During her 15 years at the Bureau, she published several popular books about coastal and marine life, including Under the Sea Wind (1941) and The Sea Around Us (1951). These earlier works received critical acclaim and established her reputation as both a skilled writer and a respected scientist.

However, it was Silent Spring (1962) that brought Carson international recognition. Through meticulous research, this book exposed the detrimental effects of pesticides such as DDT on wildlife, particularly within bird populations. Carlson demonstrated how chemicals used to kill pests on crops migrate into the environment and cause downstream, compounding, impacts on larger vertebrates like birds and even pose risk of toxic exposure to humans. Carson’s eloquent prose and rigorous scientific analysis resonated with a public increasingly concerned about the environmental consequences of human activity.

Becoming a New York Times bestseller in 1962, Silent Spring represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and raising public awareness of the inextricable links between pollution and human and environmental health. Groups engaged in efforts against oil spills, industrial pollution, toxic waste, pesticides, habitat destruction, and wildlife extinction came together, unified by their shared commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. These grassroots efforts sparked the global environmental movement which would eventually lead to the establishment of Earth Day on April 22^nd, 1970. Over half a century later, the Earth Day 2025 celebration reflects a growing public concern over the consequences of 150 years of unregulated industrial expansion and focuses on supporting the tripling of renewable energy to help address not only climate change but also compromised ocean systems, increasing levels of air pollution, and deteriorating human and planetary health.

Renewable Energy and Blue-Green Climate Action

Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, currently account for more than 80 percent of the global energy production. They are responsible for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions; they are by far the largest contributors to global climate change. To avoid the worst climate impacts, humans need to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates. To achieve this goal, we must end our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in clean, efficient, economical, sustainable, and reliable alternative energy sources. The energy transition is, however, not a simple task. It faces multifaceted challenges, including economic, technological, environmental, and geopolitical issues.

Renewable energy sources such as water, sun, wind, and heat from the Earth are replenished by nature. They produce little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants into the atmosphere and therefore do not drive climate change. One promising avenue is marine energy, which uses ocean resources to generate power – a field that has advanced significantly since Rachel Carson wrote about marine ecosystems. Currently, available options include tidal energy generated by the rise and fall of Earth’s tides and harnessed through tidal barrages, turbines, and fences; wave energy generated by converting the kinetic energy within ocean waves into electricity through devices like wave energy converters or oscillating water columns; ocean thermal energy conversion that harness the temperature difference between the warm surface water and the cold deep water in the ocean to generate electricity; and salinity gradient energy, where the difference in salinity (salt levels) between seawater and freshwater can be used to generate energy through processes like pressure retarded osmosis, or reverse electrodialysis.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are well positioned to benefit from renewable marine energy because, despite their small land areas, they possess sovereign authority over large areas of the world’s oceans through their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). SIDS are a distinct group of 39 States and 18 Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions – i.e., territories or dependent areas that are not full member states of the UN and thus do not have the same voting rights as full member states, but can participate in the work of the regional commissions, and contribute to the development of regional policies.  SIDS have been recognized as a special case since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Home to over 65 million people and bastions of biodiversity, SIDS  are a special case because they face unique challenges. They are particularly susceptible to external shocks such as global financial crises or the COVID-19 pandemic, and extremely vulnerable to the rising sea levels and extreme weather brought on by climate change. Responding to these challenges, SIDS are investing in green and blue infrastructure, restoring mangroves to protect against coastal flooding, ramping up their early warning systems, and scaling up their renewable energy capacity. Financial constraints are, nevertheless, a considerable obstacle, as some SIDS will need an investment of almost $6 billion annually to achieve their renewable energy targets by 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Reliable and adequate financing is therefore vital to unlocking the potential of renewable energy in SIDS. 

Towards a Greener and Bluer Planet

Transformative action is taking place across the globe, including a new set of recommendations to accelerate the clean energy transition on small islands launched in September 2024 by the Global Renewables Alliance and the Greening the Islands Foundation. These recommendations identify key actions to unlock the vast untapped potential of advancing insular economies and societies towards energy security and resilience.

Yet, with just 5 years remaining to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, recent analysis shows that the world is not on track to meet those targets. At this critical time, given the severe geopolitical, socio-economic, and environmental challenges that the world is facing, Rachel Carson’s cautionary message is more relevant than ever.

More than just a warning about the dangers of pesticide use, Silent Spring’s message sparked a paradigm shift in environmental thinking; it was a call for fundamental change in our customarily extractivist relationship with nature. Initiatives like those to accelerate small island energy transition, honor Carson’s legacy by pointing the way towards future of harmonious coexistence with nature forged by collective approaches taken now.

Silent Spring was not a forewarning of an unavoidable future but rather a compelling call to action grounded in the consequences of inaction. Tragically, Carson passed away in 1964 from cancer and heart disease, just two years after the book’s publication, and did not live to witness the full extent of the transformative impact her work did have on environmental policy and public awareness. As we honor her legacy this Earth Day 2025 with the theme, Our Power, Our Planet, we are reminded that we all share a collective responsibility in transitioning to renewable energy sources like the ocean, sun, and wind. From mitigating global warming to improving public health to creating jobs to promoting equality, prioritizing a just transition to renewable energy is a necessary step towards powering a greener and bluer planet.