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April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the birth of modern environmentalism. Everyone should give each other a virtual “high five” for the impressive environmental progress that the society has accomplished during this span.
Since 1970, Earth Day has increased awareness of the planet we live on, and encouraged people to learn more about pollution, climate change, endangered species, and many other environmental issues. It must be a historic moment when citizens of the world rise up in a united call for the creativity, innovation, ambition, and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future.
Earth Day is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event and it led to passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States, including the Clean Air, Clear Water and Endangered Species Acts. Many countries soon adopted similar laws, and in 2016, United Nations chose Earth Day as the day to sign the Paris climate agreement into force.
Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. Then in January 1969, he and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they choose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation.
Not every milestone since Earth Day’s inception has been positive to the event’s theme of climate action, however. In 2018, according to a report from the World Wildlife Foundation and over 50 scientists, roughly 60% of all mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have become extinct since 1970. This caused many to believe that humanity is currently the cause of a sixth major extinction event in the Earth’s history. The source of this massive loss of life is reportedly due to ever expanding farmland made for humanity’s food supplies that cause the destruction of a multitude of natural habitats; as well as animals themselves being killed for food with roughly 300 species being eaten to extinction. Chemical pollutants in the aquatic ecosystems and the polluted atmosphere are also a cause of this massive loss of life. Furthermore, in 2017, President Trump announced that his administration has decided to cease participation with the Paris Agreement and has the intention to mitigate the EPA’s funding and lessening the power of the Endangered Species Act.
Despite these worrying events, individuals and organizations across the globe continue to work towards Earth Day’s goals through environmentally friendly acts such as recycling, purchasing locally farmed food, using non-fossil fueled based machines, supporting green energy sources, curtailing the spread of invasive species, and ultimately helping in halting climate change.
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