We’ve talked a lot about Theodore Roosevelt this month, as we celebrate conservation, explorers and national parks. So you know how Roosevelt grew up too sick to go to school, got fascinated with nature and became an amateur taxidermist and nature-collector at 8 years old, and grew up into a tough, wild-game-hunting nature lover who devoted much of his life to hiking, traveling and exploring. During his presidency, from 1901-09, he created 150 national forests and 5 national parks, putting a total of 230 million acres of land under federal protection.
But by 1970, his efforts were ancient history. Factories were free to spew toxic air and waste into the air and water. State parks became crowded and dilapidated. There was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Clean Air or Clean Water Acts. There were no laws that protected the environment, and people got sick as a result.
Better order up your Respect the Earth tee, in big-kid and little-peanut sizes
It was a senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson (oh, stop snickering!) who created Earth Day. In the ’50s, he earned the title of “conservation governor” in Wisconsin; he struggled throughout the ’60s to convince Congress to make conservation a priority (they were distracted by a little police action in Asia). He thought the environment, poverty and civil rights were part of the same struggle and needed attention.
When he couldn’t get congress excited, he took inspiration from Vietnam protests and turned to the people. On April 22, 1970, some 20 million Americans conducted grass-roots demonstrations at colleges, schools, and big cities. What was coolest about it was that the people celebrating Earth Day were diverse: students, church groups, feminists, scientists, labor unions, working-class victims of pollution – everyone could get behind saving the earth. And their activism translated into new laws, agencies, and organizations – not to mention millions of watchdogs unwilling to let things get any worse.
In the four decades since then, Earth Day has evolved into a yearly celebration not just in America, but around the world. Earth Day 1990 focused on recycling and set the stage for the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. The 2000 version used the internet to link activists from 184 countries. Best of all – and the thing that ensures there will be Earth Days as long as there’s an earth — schools use Earth Week to focus on environmental education. No wonder people call it “the living tradition of Earth Day.”
Kids clean up at the first Earth Day