Earth Day 40!

This April marks the 40th Earth Day. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) founded Earth Day as an environmental teach-in. First celebrated on April 22, 1970, Earth Day marked the very beginning of the modern environmental movement.

While recognizing these things are important in our life today, knowing the history is inspirational as well. It shows the power we have to make change.

In a time when pollution was so bad rivers were literally burning, lakes were dying, air in cities was becoming toxic with no regulation, and bird species were declining rapidly as a result of widespread use of DDT, this particular day was set aside to make people aware of, and appreciate, the limitations of our planetary habitat.
It brought together many groups, each fighting for a single environmental issue, to realize they were all involved in one larger, common cause.

To quote founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, 

"It was on that day that Americans made it clear that they understood and were deeply concerned over the deterioration of our environment and the mindless dissipation of our resources. That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America. It forcibly thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the Nation. That was the important objective and achievement of Earth Day. It showed the political and opinion leadership of the country that the people cared, that they were ready for political action, that the politicians had better get ready, too."

Sometimes in our individual efforts working to allay the effects of climate change, to protect and preserve the habitat which sustains us, it may seem we do not have much of a chance to accomplish what needs to be done. Yet since that first Earth Day much has changed.

In just the first 10 years the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Water Pollution and Control Act Amendments, the Resource Recovery Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were enacted. Also in 1970, the EPA was founded to protect human health and the environment on which it depends – all as a result of the concern of the American people.
Just think: We did not HAVE an Environmental Protection Agency before 1970. Not because we didn't need one, but because it hadn't occurred to us that we needed to monitor and protect what was happening to our environment in a nationally cohesive way!

Much is yet to be done and it IS in our power to do it. We must do it, for our future.

We know these concerns are global concerns and we must think of that bigger picture as we act on personal, local, national, and world levels. From governments to businesses to individuals we all have a role to play, even if it is only being conscious of the waste and ways of our daily life and modifying them to have less impact on our habitat. The power and the responsibility is in all of our hands.

During April we give extra recognition to the need for living with awareness of the effects of our actions on the environment around us. Use this time to create new habits, teach others, and remind your government representatives that we can have a sustainable, healthy environment for the future. And then continue this year-round, because in reality there is no "Earth Day", it is "Earth Everyday".