Transcript Earth Day April 22, 2008

Earth Day
April 22, 2008
Why Earth Day, April 22, 1970?
• Tapped into an undercurrent of growing public concern about
the environmental damage that had accompanied a generation
of extraordinary prosperity.
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It was a time when people could see, smell and taste pollution
1962 – Silent Spring by Rachel Carson described the long-term
effects of highly toxic pesticides
1968 – Apollo astronauts photographed the planet Earth
1969 – Industrial runoff in the Cuyahoga River caught fire
1969 – Horrific oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA
1969 – Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act, declaring
a “national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable
harmony between man and the environment.”
– Concurrent with the slow building of environmental awareness was the
increasingly vocal opposition to the US involvement in the war in Vietnam.
Public demonstrations (particularly on college campuses) could in fact
change public policy and behavior.
•
April 22 was chosen because it was before the summer recess for
grade and high schools and it avoided exam time on college
campuses.
US Senator Gaylord Nelson
• Nelson recognized that the methods developed for
use in the anti-war protest could be a success in other
areas as well.
– “Why not have a nationwide teach-in on the environment?”
– The idea of Earth Day:
• nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment
• shake up the political establishment
• force environmental issues onto the political agenda
– It idea worked, thanks to millions of concerned Americans
spontaneous responded at the grassroots level
– The event served as a wake-up call to the political
establishment.
• The environment became a national political priority.
April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most remarkable
happenings in the history of democracy. . . 20 million people
demonstrated their support. . . American politics and public policy
would never be the same again.
American Heritage
October 1993
Major Federal Environmental
Initiatives since Earth Day 1970
1970
1970
1971
1972
1972
1972
1972
1973
1974
1974
1975
1975
1976
1976
1976
Environmental Protection Agency is created by EO
Clean Air Act (1967 act amended)
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Amendments)
Coastal Zone Management Act
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act
Endangered Species Act
Energy Supply and Environmental Coordination Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Eastern Wilderness Act
National Environmental Policy Act Amendments
National Forest Management Act
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Major Federal Environmental
Initiatives since Earth Day 1970
1976
1976
1977
1977
1977
1977
1978
1978
1979
1980
1985
1985
1987
1988
Toxic Substances Control Act
Federal Coal Leasing Act Amendments
Clean Water Act Amendments
Clean Air Act Amendments
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act
Endangered American Wilderness Act
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments
Archaeological Resources Protection Act
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Superfund Amendments
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments
Clean Water Act Amendments
Endangered Species Act reauthorization
What changed from Earth Day?
• Visible pollution has been cleaned up
– Black smoke no longer billows from smokestacks
– Raw sewage no longer runs into waterways in
amounts it once did
– Cuyahoga River no longer burns from pollution
– Lake Erie’s fisheries have been revived
– Prairie restoration in the Midwest
– Coastal protection in California
– Waterfowl habitat protected
– Electricity from renewable sources
And then it faded
• Though annual celebrations continued, they failed to
match the size and enthusiasm of the first year.
• However, the spirit continued as environmental
organizations grew in size and power.
• Earth Day came back in a big way in 1990
Earth Day 1990 Achievements
• International in scope –
– 200 million people in 141 countries
– ten times the number in 1970 – participated in events that
recognized that the environmental had finally become a universal
public concern.
• The UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
– The Earth Summit was the largest collection of national leaders
ever to meet in one place. It made some important initial steps
toward addressing climate change and preserving biodiversity.
• More than a dozen countries established eco-labeling
programs.
• Several Eastern European nations established new
environmental protection agencies
• Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts.
Has the Environment Improved?
• Within the US, the environment (specifically
the air and water) is in better condition that it
was on the first Earth Day
– Between 1970 and 1996, most air pollutants
decreased by one-third (except nitrogen oxides)
and particulate matter has declined
– Water quality has increased with decrease in fecal
contamination and phosphorus
Where are we? Earth Day 2008
• Intellectually, we finally have come to understand
that the wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil,
forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic
beauty, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity.
– In short, that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. That’s
where all the economic activity and all the jobs come from. These
biological systems contain the sustaining wealth of the world.
• As we continue to degrade them, we are consuming
our capital.
– It is a dangerous and slipper slope
– We are not just toying with nature. We are compromising the
capacity of natural systems to do what they need to do to preserve
a livable world.
Concerns Today
• Smog keeps children and elderly indoors in Atlanta,
Houston, and Chicago
• Inundating floods roll along the Missouri and
Mississippi Rivers
• Fish consumption warnings have increased
• Bird populations are waning in the Florida
Everglades
• Fresh water supplies are shrinking
• Amphibian populations are decreasing
Achieving Sustainability
• Nelson states in 2002, that this era marks the start of
the environmental challenge of the future – the
challenge of sustainability.
– Environmental Education – A public unaware of
environmental problems will not be concerned. A public
unaware that its behavior puts life on our planet at risk
won’t change its behavior.
Tasks for Earth Day 2008
• Green your ride
– Skipping one four-mile round trip in your car can save about
15 pounds of air pollution!
• Drink clean tap water
– If your tap water is clean, why import bottled water from
thousands of miles away?
• Bring your own bag
– We use 100 billion - that’s billion – plastic bags a year.
Paper bags require more logging and use four times the
energy to produce. Your best bet: use a reusable bag
• San Francisco approved groundbreaking legislation to outlaw
plastic checkout bags at large supermarkets
• Get unplugged
– 25% of the energy we use in our home is from appliances
and electronics, so we are paying to just keep them unused
and plugged in. Stop the power drain and unplug your
appliances when you’re not using them
Resources
• Ecological Footprint Quiz
– www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
– IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE ME, WE WOULD NEED 2.8 PLANETS.
• Global Warming
– Five-part cartoon series
– www.npr.org/news/specials/climate/video
• by NPR’s Robert Krulwich
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Green Chemistry: www.epa.gov/greenchemistry
Zero Waste: www.zerowaste.org
Closed Loop Production: www.cleanproduction.org
Local Living Economies: www.livingeconomies.org
QUESTIONS?