Editorial: The meaning of Earth Day now
Remember those Earth Day celebrations of old? Crowds of people rallied for the cause, passing around giant inflatable Earth balls as well as petitions.
The first one, in 1970, was marked with a rally in Chicago and several other cities. Earth Day went international in 1990, with estimates ranging from 100 million to 200 million participating worldwide. Leonardo DiCaprio, fresh off "Titanic," chaired Earth Day 2000.
The environmental movement was new and gaining momentum, arising from Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" in 1962 decrying government complicity in the growing use of toxic pesticides. Riding the wave, politicians echoed the bipartisan call to do something and then-president Richard M. Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. That same year saw the Clean Air Act, with the Clean Water Act following in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act in 1973.
Successes against environmental degradation seemed attainable and visible. Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, where an oil slick famously caught fire in 1969, eventually cleaned up enough to become the setting for a riverfront entertainment district as well as the annual Burning River Fest. Bald eagles, verging on extinction in the 1960s from hunting, habitat loss and pesticides, rebounded quickly. Today, people go eagle-watching along the shores of the Cuyahoga River.
Where is Earth Day now?
Next Wednesday marks its 45th anniversary, with many local events this weekend.
In many cases our environs look cleaner and healthier than decades ago. Chicago's air quality, for example, is drastically better than in the 1960s and 1970s.
Yet, today's issues are much more global and seemingly more difficult. Mitigating climate change at a time when our fresh-produce powerhouse of California is drying up, the icebergs of "Titanic" fame are melting and the island nation of Kiribati is about to become the first country swallowed by rising seas. Finding the technology and political will for sustainable development so pollution reduction and economic growth can go hand-in-hand.
Whew. Those problems sound intimidating and that future is scary. Who wants to think about it?
Maybe that's where Earth Day 2015 comes in. Reminding ourselves that we've had big successes, sharing a sense of purpose and resolve, fostering mindfulness about the environment (disposable drink bottles and coffee pods, really?), showing political and business leaders how much we care.
Best of all, set aside a time when you can go somewhere outdoors, breathe the air, feel the sun or rain or wind. Our fragile blue marble in space really is a beautiful place worth the enormous effort to solve the difficult problems we've placed upon it.