I was there. Fifty years ago. The first Earth Day. April 22, 1970. I was a freshman in high school and a small group of my friends and I were anxiously waiting to see if anyone would show up at the new recycling center we had just set up in the back parking lot at our school. For months beforehand we had been collecting drop-off bins, finding vendors who would take the recycled materials, and putting up flyers and posters encouraging students and their families to collect and drop off their paper, glass and cans (there was very little plastic back then….) come April 22. Newspapers went in one bin, cardboard in another, brown glass had to be separated from green and clear glass, and metal cans had to be separated from aluminum ones.
Today this might not seem like a big deal, since many towns in Maine now offer drop-off recycling centers at town facilities, or even curb-side pick-up, and large companies like EcoMaine happily collect recyclables. But back then – it was novel. I think we were one of the first sites in all of St. Paul (a city of about 300,000 at the time) to start collecting.
We gathered in the parking lot early to prepare for what we hoped was going to be a long day, and we weren’t disappointed. Car after car arrived with trunks and backs filled with recyclables. We sorted and filled all of our containers to overflowing and finished the day weary but ecstatic. We felt vindicated that we weren’t alone in caring for Mother Earth in our own small way.
That year was the start of a long career in conservation for me. That year also marked the start of a series of landmark legislation that still stand today and forever changed the way our lives intertwine with the natural world around us. Shortly after Earth Day, the Clean Air Act (CAA) was substantially improved and amended (1970), the National Environmental Protection Agency was created (1970), and soon after the Clean Water Act (1972) and then the Endangered Species Act (1973) were passed – all in response to public outcry, all with substantial bipartisan support, and all signed into law by then-president Richard Nixon. Together these laws and programs established a new paradigm between industry and the public.
Paul Rogers, Chair of the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment during the 1970 Clean Air Act deliberations,remembered it this way: During the House floor debate on the [CAA] amendments, one of my colleagues quoted a small town mayor, who …is reported to have said: “If you want this town to grow, it has got to stink.” Before 1970, there were still many persons and companies throughout the United States who agreed with the mayor that pollution was the inevitable price of progress. In the 1970 amendments, however, Congress signaled its firm belief that economic growth and a clean environment are not mutually exclusive goals. (see EPA website for more history)
Ever since then, we have seen remarkable improvements in our air quality and water quality, and we have saved 99% of species listed as Threatened or Endangered from going extinct. After the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts were passed in the 1970s we successfully reduced the ozone hole in the atmosphere that threatened to burn us up from too much UV light; reduced acid rain and toxic lead from falling on our soils and lakes and then into the food web; and eliminated the toxic foam and fires on our rivers caused by sulfite emissions and other pollutants. This was proof as Representative Rogers noted, that business can carry on and protect the environment, people and the planet’s health all at the same time.
Which brings us to today, fifty years later. Unfortunately, many other changes have occurred since the 1970s that haven’t been so great for people, wildlife, or the natural world. Just yesterday while I was driving from my house to the grocery store on near-empty roads because of the coronavirus, I felt as if I were transported back 30 years to when I first moved here – a time when I was surrounded by vibrant farmlands and forestlands; there were no telephone or electric lines alongside the last mile of road; and there were fewer homes, roads, businesses, parking lots, and cars. More recently, as I watched yet another home slip into a favored forest patch of mine, far back from the main road and right next to a vernal pool, I remember my young son telling me, “Mom – you can’t save it all!” And he’s right, but we can do better.
When we come together with the future of Mother Earth and all that she gives us in mind, we can chart a positive path forward. We’ve done it before, when we cleaned up our air and water, stopped the ozone hole from spreading, and recovered endangered bald eagles from extinction. And even though the problems before us are more complex than ever, we can do it again. By bringing together conservationists, poets, business professionals, artists, economists, policy-makers and others we can find creative solutions to tame the dangers lurking in front of us from a changing climate – but only if we choose to, and only if we act .
Now as most of us are sequestered at home, taking time to wander through the remaining fields, forests, and waterways nearby to soothe our anxiety and rejuvenate the soul, I hope when this is all over, we can remember what’s really important. For me, that’s connections with friends and family; connections with colleagues, neighbors, and community; an outdoor oasis I can walk to from my house; clean air for healthy lungs; clean water for drinking and gardening; and fresh local foods that don’t rely on chemicals and an international supply chain.
At the same time, we are all struggling with an uncertain future, perhaps with friends who have become sickened or even died, and a shrinking paycheck and economy. But consider this – right now as we are threatened with a killer virus, most of us have changed our habits in response – not only to protect ourselves, but to protect our friends, colleagues, and families. Can we do the same to protect Mother Earth and the air, water, plants, animals, food, and wood she gives us? These are the things we should be fighting for. Earth is feverish and struggling to survive too. She needs our help. And we need her healthy so she can help us.
So please join me on this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and make a pledge to do your part to make sure we have plenty to celebrate on April 22, 2070 – just 50 years from now. That might seem like a long ways off, but believe me – the time goes by faster than you think! We have no time to lose.
