Earth Day's History

According to my calendar, Earth Day is celebrated on April 21 (Sunday).

Each year, Earth Day marks the anniversry of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 ~ although, Americans claim Earth Day to be April 22 (a Monday this year).

Setting the Stage for the First Earth Day: At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Although America largely remained oblivious to environment concerns,

the stage had been set for change by the publication

of Rachel Carson's New York Times' best seller Silent Spring in 1962.

Selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries ~ it raised public awareness and concern for living organisms...the environment...and links between pollution and public health.

Earth Day 1970 gave voice to that emerging consciousness...

channelling the energy of the anti-war protest movement...

and putting environmental concerns on the front page.

The Idea for theFirst Earth Day: Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California ~ and inspired by the student anti-war-movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the annual political agenda. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.

Groups that had been fighting against oil spills...polluting factories and power plants...

raw sewage...toxic dumps...pesticides...freeways...the loss of wildernesss...

and the extinction of wildlife: suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats.

In 1990, Earth Day went global:

mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries

and lifting environmental issues to the world stage.

Earth Day had reached into its current status as the largest secular observance in the world ~

celebrated by more than a billion people every year ~ including Canada

and a day of action that changes human behaviour and provokes policy changes.

'Earth Day' Tips

(published inThe Hamilton Spectator today from www.earthday.org.

Although over 40 published, here are a few tips:

Join Earth Day Network's campaign to 'Protect Our Species'.

Join Earth Day Network's campaign to 'End Plastic Pollution'.

Reduce your carbon footprint and take our 'Carbon Footprint' Quiz.

Plant a tree or donate a tree through our Canopy Project.

A few years ago when a friend's son suddenly died,

she bought a tree in memory of him ~ planting it in Burlington's Spencer Smith Park.

.

Join a local park, river or beach clean-up.

Use environmentally-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.

Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs.Reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds a year. (This I did a few years ago.)

Keep your tires properly inflated and get better gas mileage. Reduce your carbon footprint 20 pounds for each gallon of gas saved.

Carpool: Ride your bike; use pubic transportation...or drive an electric or hybrid car~ reducing your

carbon footprint by one pound for every mile you do not drive.

Teleconference instead of travelling. If you fly 5 times per year, those trips are likely to account for 75% of your personal carbon footprint.

Change your car's air filter regularly.

Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags and straws.

Recycle paper....plastic...and glass. Reduce your garbage by10% and your carbon footpriint by 1,200 pounds a year.

Change your paper bills to online billing. You'll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver bills

Read documents online instead of printing them.

Set your office printer to print two-sided.

Collect used printer, fax and copier cartridges to recycle.

Use reusable bottles for water and reusable mugs for coffee.

Bring reusable bags when you shop.

Pack your lunch in a reusable bag.

Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork. Buy straight from the farm; frequent your local 'farmers market' or join a local food co-op.

Buy organic food to keep your body and the environment free of toxic pesticides. Support farmers and companies who use organic ingredients.

Reduce your meat consumption to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry.

Compost kitchen scraps for use in your garden ~ turning waste into fertilizer.

Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving shower head.

Fix leaky faucets and shower heads.

Run your dishwasher only when it's full to save water and energy.

Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night.

Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.

Pull out invasive plants in your yard or garden and replace them with native ones.

Turn off and unplug electronics you're not using ~ including your computer at night.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator to save energy and get exercise.

So True! A business-man I met on the ski-slopes, told me

that when on appointments, he always parked at least 2 blocks away.

This, his daily exercise, kept him in shape for schussing and summer sports.

Written by Merle Baird-Kerr...scripted April 22, 2019

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@bell.net