The first Earth Day happened on April 22, 1970 principally due to the efforts of Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson.
What was described at the time as a “teach-in” for the environment, the event showed the power of a grassroots movement to raise awareness, build community, and change the course of events, making the political establish take seriously the concerns the public had about environmental degradation. And this was back before the internet, MySpace, blogs. Facebook, Twitter and the whole “web 2.0” revolution.
Number of blogs worldwide: 0
Nonetheless, the announcement from Senator Nelson’s office that there would be a national event for the environment and everyone was invited took off like wildfire, far beyond the expectations of Nelson and his staff.
Now, in 2010, we face environmental challenges not even imagined all those years ago, except for a very few for whom nobody took much notice. If people accuse climate models of being inaccurate today, they were non-existent in any real sense in 1970.
But like any worthwhile challenge – and I would propose that the preservation of our human and natural environment is worthwhile – it calls upon the best in us to rise up and meet it.
Earth Day is set aside for education and awareness for the earth and the environment, coming together and building grassroots community. The best we can hope for from Earth Day is to take a little piece of that knowledge and awareness and carry it with us every day, and through that consistence and determination, change what needs to be changed.
Imagine a future when we don’t need an “Earth Day”.
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This article by the author first appeared April 21st, 2008 on Hugg.ca
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