An American beauty who calls for ecological restoration was crowned Miss Earth 2020 during a virtual presentation on Sunday, Nov. 29.
Lindsey Coffey, 28, is the first American to win the Miss Earth title since the environment-driven competition started in 2001. She bested 83 other international delegates for the crown.
"As a representative of the Miss Earth organization, my reach is monumentally more expansive. It is my primary duty to promote the mission and conduct hands on work as a beauty for a cause. My goal is to encourage conversation with others, to amplify my voice, influence others to use their voices, to share on social media, and to con-duct impactful media outreach," Coffey said.
Coffey who was athlete and honor student said that her great-grandmother came to the USA from Italy. "My blood line is linked to Marie Antoinette, who was the Queen of France during the 1700s."
Asked about her advocacy, the beauty queen said: "We are facing many environmental issues today; however, the water crisis poses the most immediate risk as it affects humanity and regional stability."
"Our water on Earth is limited due to pollution, overuse and the increase of demand, lack of or outdated infrastructure, as well as changes in weather patterns due to global warming. Globally, we must turn to ecological res-toration, contour farming, rainwater harvesting, and desalination in order to combat this crisis," Coffey said.
Miss Philippines Roxanne Allison Baeyens of Baguio City was named Miss Earth - Water 2020. She was also named Jewel Beauty Strong Earth Ambassador.
Other winners were: Stephany Zreik, Venezuela, Miss Earth – Air 2020; and Michala Rubinstein, Denmark, Miss Earth - Fire 2020.
Miss Australia Brittany Dickson received the Eco Angel Special Award.
Also in the Top 8 were delegates from Myanmar, Netherlands, Poland, and Puerto Rico.
Although it would not be the traditional coronation event pageants fans would expect, this year’s search took advantage of technology to bring the world together to promote its environmental campaign.
“We decided not to skip this year so we can continue with our mission to raise awareness on the state of the environment,” states Executive Vice-President and Miss Earth co-founder Lorraine Schuck. “Holding the pageant would enable another batch of delegates with the theme “Eco-Angels” to underscore the delegates’ role as guardians of nature, to inspire people across the world with their environmental platforms, which has always been Miss Earth’s mission.”
Schuck further said that the virtual event could also be an effective means to show the global community to be resilient in the face of a crisis, and that it is possible to cope with the challenges through the creative use of technology.
“While we understand the impact of COVID-19 to individuals and industries worldwide, we should also not let this unfortunate incident take a hold of our lives. We should eventually learn to move on, make the most of what we have, and inspire one another,” said the former beauty queen.