Miss USA for this year's Miss Earth contest called for ecological restoration and was crowned as the winner during a virtual presentation on Sunday, November 29. Twenty-eight-year-old Lindsey Coffey is the first American to take home the Miss Earth title since the environment-driven competition commenced in 2001.
Lindsey Coffey, First USA Candidate to Be Crowned Miss Earth
Miss Earth 2020's theme was "Eco Angels" for its 20th year. The candidates exhibited their evening gowns, swimsuits, and national costumes at the virtual program hosted by James Deakin.
Coffey was the first United States bet to take home the crown. According to an earlier interview, she is looking to help combat the water crisis because it poses the most urgent risk to impact humanity and regional stability.
Miss USA beat 83 other international delegates participating in the global pageant.
Coffey stated that as a representative of the Miss Earth organization, her influence has remarkably broadened.
Puerto Rico's Nellys Pimentel crowned Coffey at the end of the event. It marks the United States' milestone of becoming the fifth country to win at least once in all of the Big Four global beauty pageants, reported Wikipedia.
According to the American beauty, "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," reported Manila Bulletin.
The pageant took place virtually for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other winners were Stephany Zreik from Venezuela as Miss Earth Air, Roxanne Baeyens from the Philippines as Miss Earth Water, and Michala Rubinstein from Denmark as Miss Earth Fire.
Coffey wrote on Instagram about the "life-changing moment" and vowed to become a voice to inspire people and make a difference. "Tonight was life changing. We made history as the first USA representative to earn the Miss Earth crown." She added, "I joined the Miss Earth sisterhood to become a voice, to inspire, and to make a difference in our world. Now is that opportunity."
"As now is the time for action. Now is the time to be more than your country. We are not just citizens of our nation. We are citizens of the world, and once we start to view one another as such we will always find success."
Coffey deemed Miss Earth as justice, hope, and life.
The model is a native of Pennsylvania and is a political science and communication arts graduate.
In the contest's final question-and-answer portion, the Top 8 candidates were asked how considering 2020 set forth numerous conspiracy theories, fake, or conflicting news, how do they settle this with the concept of truth. The collegiate high jumper responded that it is crucial to really look into your sources and find reputable sources to be trusted.
