Today I reflect on the words of a song that was first recorded in 1977 but re-recorded by Whitney Houston in February of 1985. It truly touched my heart because I had had my first child in January of that year. I’m sure these words are known by everyone “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way…” 37 years later our children are still our future and we need to teach them today so they can lead the way!
Tomorrow, April 22nd we will be celebrating our 52nd Earth Day. As many of the other celebrations I shared with you, I didn’t know a lot about what the history of this day is. Therefore I will take a few paragraphs to bring to you what I have learned, in hopes you will step up to teach the children of today why it is so important to our world to take care of our environment.
American’s were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas in the 60’s and air pollution was becoming a concern. Rachel Carsen’s1969 best seller “Silent Spring” raised public awareness and concerns for all living organisms and sold over 500,000 copies in over 24 countries. People were becoming aware how pollution and public health were linked.
In 1970, Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, was extremely worried about the deteriorating US environment. He had witnessed the devastation that the January 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara had inflicted in California. Senator Nelson decided to organize a college teach-ins on April 22nd which fell between Spring Break and Final Exams. This would maximize the greatest student participation. He recruited activist Denis Hayes and together they built a national staff of 85 people to promote events across the country. Earth day inspired 20 million Americans to take to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate how 150 year of industrial development was having serious health impacts on humans. The first Earth Day in the United States lead to the creation of Environmental Protection Agency.
Denis Hayes was once again approached by environmental leaders in 1990. This time to organize a worldwide campaign for the planet. That year over 200 million people were mobilized in 141 countries and therefore lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. It gave way to boosting recycling efforts and in 1992, President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest honor given to civilians in the United States – for his role as Earth Day Founder.
Earth Day 2000 focused on global warming and pushing for clean energy in which Hayes spearheaded another campaign with 5,000 environmental groups and 184 countries. 30 years in the making Earth Day 2000 sent a clear message that Citizens around the world wanted action. With the power of the internet, hundreds of millions of people, rallied all around the world.
In 2010, it was a challenging time for the environmental community as it had to combat the cynicism of climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyist and a disinterested public. In the face of these challenges, Earth Day was re-established as EARTHDAY.ORG. Over the decades EARTHDAY.ORG has brought hundreds of millions of people into the environmental movement, creating opportunities for volunteerism in 193 countries.
Earth Day today engages more than 1 billion people every year and is widely recognized as the largest secular observance of the world. The fight for clean environment continues with urgency. This year the theme is “Invest in our Planet” and here are a few activities we can do with our children to help save our plant:
Making crafts with recycled materials
Cooking with local produce
Organize a shoreline or park clean-up
Plant trees, shrubs or flowers
Turn off the lights when you don’t need them
Use eco-friendly natural products
Invent rainwater harvesting system
Get involved in your municipality to help the environment
Live life well always and today let's do our part to save our planet Earth!