Earth Day

When I was a child growing up in Wisconsin, my sisters and I went swimming every day of the summer. Right after lunch, my mother would pile us and our friends into the station wagon and drive to the city pool. As we crossed the river which passed through our town, we would lean our heads out to peer below. The river was often colored a bright hue; sometimes green, maybe yellow or red. The river was the receptacle of whatever dye the paper mills were using that day. We kids knew exactly which color paper the mill was churning out, and we honestly thought nothing of it. I don't believe we had ever even heard the word "pollution." We children, and the adults who raised us, were blissfully ignorant and unaware. We were certain that Earth would continue to thrive, no matter how much pollution we threw at it, and no matter how many natural resources we gobbled up. The dirty water would flow to the ocean to be replaced by clean water, the exhaust emitting from our station wagon would just float away, and the gum wrappers we threw out the windows would somehow find their proper place.

Then we heard that a different river in a different town caught fire. We wondered, "How could water, even pretty colored water, catch on fire?" Of course it can't, but in 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so full of pollutants, it did indeed burn!

That same year, Gaylord Nelson, our senator from Wisconsin, created Earth Day. Senator Nelson tells us, "Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country...At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate... Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself."

On that first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, over 20 million people took part in activities around the country. This was just the beginning of a new understanding that perhaps Earth was not going to clean itself up, and that maybe we needed to take better care of our natural resources. Within two years, two new laws were passed, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. And since then, thanks to the awareness brought about by that first Earth Day, we have all become aware of our fragile environment and its limited resources, and legislation has continued to provide much needed protection.

This year, on April 22, 2008, we celebrate the 38th anniversary of Earth Day. Phrases such as "endangered species," "recycled materials," and "global warming," unheard of 38 years ago, have become part of our everyday vernacular. In fact, Earth Day, and all its lessons have become so common, that one might wonder if we are in danger of taking it all for granted. Haven't we done enough work to clean up our environment? The answer is, of course, no. Although much great work has been accomplished, we are still a long way from achieving our goal of a clean and stable environment for all of Earth's creatures. Pollution, global warming, increased energy consumption, and destruction of animal habitat are but a few of the issues that continue to pose a threat to planet Earth.

It is estimated that 500 million people in over 180 countries will celebrate Earth Day this year. Will you and your children join in the celebration? Chances are good that there is an Earth Day celebration happening in your own community, which you and your family will want to be sure to be a part of. As Gaylord Nelson said in 1990, 25 years after the first Earth Day, "If we are going to move the nation to an environmentally sustainable economy, you and that young generation right behind you are going to have to do it - and I think you will." We think he is right.