Forty years after Earth Day was proclaimed a national day of observance, our planet faces greater perils than ever before, according to the Earth Day Action Center. The idea of marking a day on which to take notice, on the most basic level, of what surrounds us began as an "environmental teach-in" in Seattle and launched a worldwide environmental movement. This year's observance is being heralded by a poster by Jody Hewgill who filed the following report by email:

The US Department of State commissioned me to do their 2010 Earth Day Poster, which is distributed to all of their embassies and consulates around the world. I have worked with art director Diane Woolverton before, when she commissioned me to create the posters for the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. But I found the topic for this poster - biodiversity - far more complex.

Earth Day 2010 poster (center) flanked by details. Copyright and courtesy Jody Hewgill.

I chose to express the fragility of our planet by imagining it as a small island inhabited by a variety of endangered animals and plants. With a complex topic such as biodiversity, it seemed obvious that the first place to start was to spend time working on the research. At first, this felt like a daunting task, and then it became a great learning experience for me. As a basis I used a chart that divided all species into taxonomic groups, selected those that were specifically endangered, and then narrowed it down further for diverse global representation. Lastly, I chose a limited color palette, and selected critters and fauna whose coloration fell within that range.

While researching my subjects I found it very sad to discover the reasons for the decline of most of these animals, for example the very cute Tasmanian devil, who is plagued with horrible cancerous facial tumors that interfere with feeding and eventually leads to death by starvation. Other reasons for the decline in species include loss of habitat, depletion of prey, disease from pollution and toxins, and over-hunting. I chose to illustrate all these endangered animals in their natural healthy state.

We have a cottage in northern Ontario, so I also drew inspiration for this piece from my love of observing animals in their natural habitat, while hiking and kayaking.

For the first Earth Day in New York in 1970, Mayor John V. Lindsay closed Fifth Avenue, turning it into a pedestrian mall for celebration and protest. This year the festivities, which began on Sunday, continue throughout the week, with events ranging from film screenings to bird watching workshops. A new identity program and website urges viewers to "Be E" (complete with a custom hand sign) with a call to action from Mahatma Ghandi: Be the change you want to see in the world.

The original painting for the Earth Day poster by Jody Hewgill will be on view in New York in an exhibition at Society of Illustrators opening on June 4^th.