Earth Day, marked annually by Google with one of its famous doodles, was given a beatific and celebratory treatment by the internet giant yesterday.

 

In the place of last year's depiction of the hydrological cycle and 2012's flowers, this year's doodle was half a dozen animated illustrations of species, from the photographer's favorite, the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), to the Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), a small bird found mostly on the west coast of the US.

 

Also featured were the puffer fish, dung beetle, veiled chameleon and moon jellyfish. The collection appeared to be chosen on the basis of being inspirational or beautiful rather than being endangered; Google's doodle was accompanied by a photo-sharing initiative on Google+ called #MyBeautifulEarth.

 

This year was the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, which was started in the US. It was the creation in large part of Gaylord Nelson, a US senator and Democrat, who died in 2005. It is designed to "[activate] individuals and organizations to strengthen the collective fight against man's exploitive relationship with the planet."

 

The Earth Day website this year said that:

 

“Our planet is at a turning point. The massive global migration underway now from countryside to cities will demand huge investments in energy, water, materials, waste, food distribution, and transportation over the next 25 years. If the right investments are made now, this unique opportunity will be the catalyst for dramatic changes in the built environment and the fight against carbon emissions and climate change.”