April 22 marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Those were the "bad old days". At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans; industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press; air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity, and environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. Earth Day 1970 turned all that around. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.
Much has been achieved since that first Earth Day, but so much more needs to be done. Go here to find out what you can do... whether it's a lot or a little, every effort helps.
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