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Celebrating Earth Day Every Day!HOW EARTH DAY BEGANIn the late 1960s, a series of environmental catastrophes occurred thatscared a whole lot of people. The Cuyahoga River, which flows throughthe city of Cleveland, was so polluted that it caught fire, twice! Amajor oil spill occurred off the coast of California, smearing thousandsof seals and ocean birds with gooey, life-threatening petroleum. Birdslike bald eagles, pelicans and ospreys were disappearing, as pesticidescaused their eggshells to thin, and the thin shells cracked when the motherbird tried to incubate her eggs. Dense smog covered too many cities, theproduct of car exhaust and industrial pollution. Rivers reeked from untreatedwaste flowing out of millions of pipes. Too much human waste poured intowaterways uncleaned. Almost no one anywhere recycled anything.In 1969, Gaylord Nelson, then a United States Senator from Wisconsin,decided to organize a national demonstration on behalf of the environment.During a speech he made in Seattle in September 1969, he announced therewould be a national environmental teach-in in the Spring of 1970. The wireservices carried the story nationwide. The response was dramatic. It took offlike gangbusters.“The objective was to get a nationwide grassroots demonstration of concernfor the environment so large that it would shake the political establishmentout of its lethargy and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the nationalpolitical agenda,” explained Sen. Nelson, former Counsellor to The WildernessSociety, a national conservation group. “It was a gamble, but it worked.”On April 22, 1970, newspapers estimated that some 20 million Americans ofall ages gathered in cities and towns across the country to say one word veryloudly: Enough. Enough pollution. Enough waste. Enough endangered species.That day was christened “Earth Day,” and it changed the world. Two decadeslater, the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day was a global happening ofunprecedented proportions: more than 100 million people participated inevents in more than 100 countries!In October 1993, American Heritage magazine called Earth Day: “… one ofthe most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy…” New laws likethe Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts were passed by Congress andsigned by President Richard Nixon. The eggshell-thinning pesticide DDT wasbanned. The Environmental Protection Agency was founded. Several nationalenvironmental organizations like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace wereformed, and people began to see the world differently. Recycling programsstarted. Environmental education classes flourished in schools and thousandsof people began tackling projects to protect the environment.“It was truly an astonishing grassroots explosion,” said Nelson. “The peoplecared, and Earth Day became the first opportunity they ever had to join in anationwide demonstration to send a big message to the politicians – a messageto tell them to wake up and do something.”This April 22nd, Earth Day returns, and so many things have changed, somefor the better, some for the worse. Some endangered species like pelicans,eagles and ospreys have been saved. The air we breathe and the water wedrink are cleaner in many places, and more recycling occurs now than everbefore in history. There are many more people working full time in science,government and industry to solve environmental problems. Earth Day hasbecome a day celebrated worldwide.But the problems have not all gone away. There are new endangeredspecies, and endangered habitats, too. Many scientists worry that the Earth'sclimate may be warming. While there is more recycling than ever, there stillis a lot of waste thrown out. And while water and air pollution have beensignificantly reduced, we still have a long way to go.Nelson said, “The future of the environmentdepends on kids asking hard questions, and followinga ‘conservation ethic,’ understanding that everythingon the planet is connected to everything else. We mustalways ask the question: If we mess with nature, whatwill be the consequence, and how can we minimize thedamage?”“The objective of the first Earth Daywas to get a nationwide grassrootsdemonstration of concern for theenvironment so large that it wouldshake the political establishment outof its lethargy and, force this issuepermanently onto the nationalpolitical agenda.“Courtesy of The Wilderness Society4
!TAKEACTION!“No one is too young or tooold to get involved in savingthe environment.”Get in on the action and excitement,and plan a special way for your classand your school to become involved inEarth Day. Here are some ideas.Plan an All-School1. GatheringBegin Earth Day with an outdoorgathering around the school’s flagpole. Under the American flag, hoistan Earth flag, as is done at manyschools. Work with your teacher andmusic teacher to create an Earth Dayceremony that includes an environmentalsong sung by the whole school,environmental readings and poems,and perhaps ends with the unveilingof the school's newly planted tree.2. ParadePlan a parade, involving your entireclass or your entire school, celebratingEarth Day. Dress up as hundreds ofdifferent species of plants and animals.Create floats out of recycled materialthat teach about the environment andenvironmentally responsible actions.Each float could represent a differentnatural habitat or you could havemarching habitats, like rainforests andreefs, and involve the school marchingband in some novel way.Community3. ServiceCall a nature center, park or localenvironmental group to volunteer yourclass time on Earth Day. Help themclean a park or creek, or improve theenvironment in some other notableway. Write to the local press to letthem know what you are doing.4. TestifyEvery town, suburb, city, and ruralarea has some form of local government,a Mayor and Town Council orBoard of Commissioners. Every schoolis governed by a School Board. Someof these officials are elected representatives.Find out when their nextpublic meeting is and how they invitepublic testimony. Have a group ofstudents in your class write a statementabout Earth Day. Ask your towngovernment to endorse Earth Day andplan a special commemoration. Askthe School Board to adopt a trashreduction or energy conservation plan.Make sure you have discussed anytestimony with your parents, teachers,and principals.Write to the5. NewspaperCheck out this newspaper’s letters tothe editor column. In small groups,read two or three aloud. What arepeople writing about? Do you agree ordisagree? Write a letter to the editor,using the format, and following anyguidelines described on the letterspage. Send the letter(s) to the newspaper.Are they printed? Are there anyletters sent to the newspaper thatcomment on your Earth Day ideas?Check Out The Newspaper!Learning standard: understanding the importanceof the environment◆ Read today’s newspaper, especiallyits news sections. Is there any newsabout Earth Day? News about theenvironment? What stories have youfound? Are they good news or badnews about the environment?Extra! Extra! Learn More!1. If your class is connected to theInternet, conduct a search on the webfor the phrase “Earth Day.” Can youfind organizations dedicated to promotingEarth Day? Can you find EarthDay activities for schools and families?2. Interview a parent or grandparentabout what they remember about thefirst Earth Day in 1970. Write a reportabout their memories of Earth Day.3. Learn more about Earth Day, theconservation ethic, migrating birdsand the lands that all Americans ownat The Wilderness Society’s website:http://wilderness.org.4. Write a letter to the WildernessSociety letting them know about yourhopes and concerns for ourplanet, and how you want to helpimprove the environment. Send ane-mail message to them.Sen. Gaylord NelsonMAKE YOURVOICE HEARD!http://earthday.wilderness.org5
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Page 9 and 10: Below: Fan coral off Grand Cayman,
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Page 13 and 14: DRIVE POLLUTIONAWAY!During the firs
Page 15 and 16: Pol l i ng the PlanetAt the first E

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