Edie Thompson
April 22, 1970 was a most remarkable day in the United States. Twenty million Americans joined in teach-ins, marches, and deeds of clean-up. The brainchild of Gaylord Nelson, junior Senator from Wisconsin, his idea was to engage young people. This he did! In Denver hundreds of teens left their schools to ride bikes or walk to the capitol, then walked or rode on 5000 strong for an afternoon of speeches. But more than schools and colleges were involved. A day of celebration of our planet was picked up by thousands of organizations in every city, town and village throughout the land.
How was this possible? Two books led into this event; there was no"social media.” First Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac was published in 1949. When it caught on, it was printed in 14 languages with over 2 million copies. It still sells 400,000 copies a year. The second book was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, published in 1962. Whereas Leopold's book was a series of essays regarding his concern for our land, and our use of the land, Carson's book was an indictment of the chemical companies and the indiscriminate use of these products. Silent Spring went on to be a book-of-the-month club. It was viciously fought by the chemical companies, but it was wildly popular because of the message it purveyed.
So, that first Earth Day 50 years ago this week was a red-letter day in every corner of the United States. We were spending a sabbatic 9 months in Gainesville, Florida. Our oldest (a 9th grader) helped in the office of the Florida Defenders of the Environment and on that first Earth Day joined others in the waist-deep water of Lake Alice in pulling out the invasive water hyacinth.
That first Earth Day was the birth of the modern day environmental movement. From the late 60's thru the early 80s, Congress passed all the basic legislation we have today (subsequent laws have tweaked them). The Clean Air Act and the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Agency were added in 1970. The Clean Water Act was added in 1972, and the Endangered Species Act added in 1973. Among other laws, the Super Fund was passed in 1980 to aid in cleaning up toxic waste. The world we live in is more healthful as legislatures continue to tackle possible insults to our bodies.
Earth Day has been celebrated for 50 years, and has spread overseas. It has never reached the fever-pitch experienced in 1970, but I hope the spirit of concern for the earth's health will continue in the future.
Please e-mail your comments to Edie Thompson