I haven’t heard much discussion from either the media or our politicians on Earth Day. Are we actually back to the place we were in 1969 when the state of our environment was a non-issue? Has Earth Day become a local weekend entertainment event where bands and celebrities play music and preach to the choir?
Earth Day was founded in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson to put the environment into the political “limelight.” It provided a forum for Americans to express their concerns and tapped into the anti-war sentiments of America’s youth. Earth Day 1970 drew more than 20 million people to demonstrations and teach-ins at thousands of schools and local communities. Today celebrations are worldwide and draw more than 500 million participants. But where are our leaders? How come when I listened to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton yesterday I heard nothing about Earth Day?
Earth Day: Growing in Size And Lacking in Leadership?
Posted in The WIP Talk, Uncategorized
I too heard very little about Earth Day and was very surprised by this…
So much of the news we link to is related to our changing environment, whether it is the food crisis or the genocide in Darfur. Issues relating to the environment, such as the scarcity of water, are paramount since without it we cannot survive. I see some little changes in myself – like the guilt I feel if I forget my reusable shopping bag and I end up with a plastic bag destined for a landfill. But still, I continue to pollute when I drive my car, probably my largest contribution to global warming. Time is running out and the holiday that Earth Day has become certainly isn’t reasurring.