From Earth Day to Earth Month
By Tim Decker
April is Earth Month. It is a time to look at the planet on which we live and a time to find ways to treat her better. In the US and many other countries, we celebrate Earth Day and make plans to spend some time outside to enjoy all of the planet’s beauty.
The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. United States Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide “environmental teach-in” on college campuses on that day. Fortunately, the name was changed to Earth Day which was easier to remember and also rhymed with birthday. More than 20 million people took part in the first Earth Day to enjoy Mother Earth and to point out some of the abuses she was suffering.
Music Mound, Ohio. Photo by I. Oliyarnik
The need for an Earth Day came from the rapid growth of industry. Our country had started down the road to becoming a major industrial power in the world by the early 1800’s. In prior years, most of the products people used daily were handmade on a very small scale. Food crops were also planted and harvested by hand. But in 1804 the steam engine was invented and became the core technology for almost all travel and industry. This one invention powered textile factories, ships, printing presses, sawmills, flour mills, trains, and much more. But it came at a heavy cost to the environment. The engines ran on steam so they needed fuel to heat the water.
The smog in Pittsburgh led to one of the gravest environmental disasters in US history. Photo by University of Pittsburgh
At first it was wood; then coal and oil were used, which gave off much thicker smoke. By the 1900’s many large industrial cities were almost unlivable. Pittsburgh had been described by James Parton, an Atlantic Monthly writer, as, “… hell with the lid taken off.” But factories meant jobs and money, so little was done to curb the unlimited growth.
By the late 1960’s there were several major environmental crises in the US. The smog levels in New York and Los Angeles were a daily hazard causing many respiratory problems. In January of 1969, a drilling platform off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA blew out releasing over 3 million gallons of oil into the ocean. Over 10,000 seals, sea lions, dolphin, and sea birds were killed. And then in June, Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire (for the thirteenth time since the late 1800’s). Almost nightly, Americans were seeing stories and pictures of environmental catastrophes from around the country.
The founders of Earth Day decided to take action. They gathered a list of 12 incumbent members of the U.S. House of Representatives with the worst environmental records who were also up for reelection. This group was affectionately called the “Dirty Dozen”. With a budget of only $50,000 the Earth Day coalition manage to unseat 7 of them. Those unexpected ousters made many other legislators sit up and take notice. Soon, environmental issues were a major focus of investigative journalism, cartoonists and other social commentators, as well as government ad campaigns.
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing. Courtesy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Over the next few years several environmental reforms were strengthened or adopted. The Clean Air Act, which actually passed in 1963, finally started to operate as intended by regulating aircraft emissions (1970), taking the lead out of gasoline (1971), and testing emissions for motor vehicles (1972). The Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970. And the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972.
Though Earth Day originated to address issues related to pollution, the biggest environmental issue facing the world today is climate change, which has already had serious negative impacts on ecosystems and weather patterns that threaten our very survival. So, it was no accident that the United Nations chose Earth Day to sign the most important climate change accord in history. On that day in 2016, 195 nations signed the Paris Climate Agreement, breaking a record for the most signatories!
Zoar, Ohio. Photo by Benjamin Iehman
This year, Earth Day is April 22, 2024. How can you celebrate Earth Month, and Earth Day in particular? Enjoy an outdoor activity. Participate in an organized clean-up event, or just pick up trash in your neighborhood or at a local park. Plant a tree or some local plants that attract pollinators. Pledge to limit your use of plastics and fossil fuels whenever possible. Eat local. Shop local. Reduce. Reuse. Repurpose. Recycle.
Learn more at https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/
Tim Decker has taught science courses from pre-K to college. He greatly enjoys exploring new environments, from nearby parks to the Costa Rican rainforest. He lives in Island Creek with his wife.
