Earth Day at ASU 2024: The Climate Action Almanac

Presented by Ed Finn from the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination, the Climate Action Almanac brings together top science fiction authors with researchers, artists, scientists, and advocates from around the world to share visions of positive climate futures. These works of fiction, nonfiction, and art chart pathways toward a vibrant, decarbonized future. They are grounded in real science and honor local particularities, insisting upon equity and justice and imagining efforts that could be scaled out for coordinated global change.
Earth Day was first recognized on April 22, 1970 after the nation and the world witnessed more than 4.2 million gallons of oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The spill spoiled a 35-mile stretch of coastline, killing more than 3,800 birds and causing more than $175 million (adjusted) in damages. The incident helped to establish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory now serves as the hub of activities at Arizona State University that honors Earth Day each April 22. Since 2021, beginning with the dedication of the Walton Center for Planetary Health, ASU and the Global Futures Laboratory have welcomed celebrated speakers including Vice President Al Gore, Dr. Jane Goodall, Peter Seligmann, Ukrainian activist Zoya Lytvyn, conservation author Enric Sala, climate action entrepreneur Leah Lizarondo and peace and leadership expert Maya Soetoro-Ng.