Marc McGinnes: Earth Ambassador

I intend to serve as an “Earth Day 2020 Ambassador" for a term beginning in August of this year and lasting until the conclusion of the worldwide observances of Earth Day in April 2020 and their aftermath. It will be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and I am committed to doing all I can to make it the most consequential series of Earth Day events in history.  

My year-long service as an Earth Day 2020 Ambassador will include my work each day during the  Fall 2019 Semester at Sea voyage, commencing in Amsterdam in September 2019, and ending in San Diego in December 2019. I invite and appreciate your support! 

I have only until June 11th (update: extended until June 30th!) to raise $30,000 (over 23K raised! $6K to go!) to cover the expenses of this project to reaffirm, reanimate, support and harness citizens around the world to stand up for the Earth.  Plus we got a generous $5K matching donor, so donate now for double the impact!

Please donate through this GoFundMe page or via http://www.earthisland.org/donate (please specify "Restoration Services" in the memo line.) Thank you for whatever support you can provide. 

Please read below for more details. For Mother Earth, with love and gratitude, Marc



As recounted in my recent book, In Love with Earth: Testimonies and Heartsongs of an Environmental Elder , I worked with Congressman Pete McCloskey, Denis Hayes and others in 1969 to plan and present the first Earth Day observances in 1970. I subsequently was a leading founder of the Community Environmental Council, the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB, and the Environmental Defense Center, all going strong today and all prepared to work together and with others in the coming year to make Earth Day 2020 hugely impactful across the country and all around the world. 

My year-long service as an Earth Day 2020 Ambassador will include, but isn't limited to, my work each day during the forthcoming Fall 2019 Semester at Sea voyage, commencing in Amsterdam on September 9, 2019, and ending in San Diego on December 23, 2019.

Payment for this was required by June 11... hot flash! They extended the deadline to June 30!

During that period I will be a member of a shipboard community consisting of some 600 undergraduates from universities around the country, 100 faculty and staff from several universities, and 50 or so older members of the Lifelong Learners contingent. I am a former member of the Semester at Sea faculty (Spring 2000), and I have made several partial voyages since then, most recently in 2013. 

This link has information about the Fall 2019 Semester at Sea voyage. This academic international collaboration is a perfect opportunity, in a unique study-travel environment, to collaborate with highly capable team members just as intensely on Earth Day 2020 as I worked on the first Earth Day fifty years ago.

It will be an important completion to a part of my lifetime’s work. 



The Semester at Sea ship is fully “wired” for online access and communications, and during the voyage I will work with interested students, faculty and others to participate in Earth Day 2020, planning efforts around the world along the voyage itinerary and elsewhere.

Through regular weekly blogs, shared with media outlets, social media, on my website and by other means, I'll provide accounts of the activities and progress all along the way. By the time the ship reaches San Diego in late December, hundreds of students, faculty and others will "hit the ground running" to their various communities to assist in bringing local, national and international Earth Day 2020 plans to successful fruition. My service will include regular reports concerning the progress of these efforts during the four months leading up to Earth Day 2020 events, to inspire and generate participation. 
 
The cost for my economy-class passage and board on the ship is $25,950, payable no later than June 11, and I estimate a further cost of $4000 for travel to Amsterdam and other travel and work-related expenses in arranging to meet with local environmental representatives in the several countries on the voyage itinerary. Thus, I've set the goal at $30,000 to cover the expenses of this project to reaffirm, reanimate and harness a world of citizens to stand up for the Earth. 

My service as an Earth Day 2020 Ambassador prior to and after the voyage with be at my own personal expense, as my means and modest needs permit.

Thank you for your support that allows me to pursue my highest service to the planet I love. 

For any friends who would appreciate the tax deduction of working with a non-profit, I'm pleased to announce that Earth Island Institute has graciously agreed to serve as fiscal sponsor, and tax-deductible contributions to the project may be made to: www.earthisland.org/donate

Please specify "Restoration Initiatives" in the Message field. Or you can send a check, with "Restoration Initiatives" in the memo line, to: Earth Island Institute, 2150 Allston Way, Suite 460, Berkeley, CA 94704, ATTN: Ariana Katovich / Restoration Initiatives