Perhaps it isn’t surprising that the first Earth Day sprang up from a period of almost constant political activism — the 1960s. In those days, a voice seemed to rise up for nearly every possible social concern. But what is surprising is that more than 30 years after the initial celebration, Earth Day continues to grow and thrive in the national consciousness.
This weekend brought the Earth Day celebration to Downtown Eugene. Marketing and Events Director Amy Nielson said last year’s event drew nearly 4000 visitors.
The far-reaching political importance of the first Earth Day might get lost amid the current and somewhat benign celebratory festivities held in cities across the country. The original event actually represented the birth of the modern environmental movement — coming at a time of broad changes in environmental law and an increased awareness of surrounding issues.
While the first official Earth Day was held April 22, 1970, the seeds were planted nearly a decade earlier.
Former Senator Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., came up with the idea in 1962, after persuading Sen. Robert F. Kennedy to embark on a national conservation tour. Nelson had grown increasingly troubled by the fact that the state of the environment was a non-issue in the politics of the era. Kennedy’s five-day, 11-state tour was unsuccessful at driving home the importance of the problem. However, it was a major inspiration for what would become Earth Day.
Nelson envisioned the event as something similar to the anti-Vietnam War “teach-ins” of the time — a grassroots protest lamenting environmental abuse. As soon as Nelson announced in September 1969 that the protest would be held the following spring, the idea spread like wildfire.
Instead of one locally observed day of protest, Earth Day ballooned into a national event with forces functioning independently and in conjunction with Nelson’s original concept. Nelson has been quoted many times as saying the event “organized itself.”
The effects of that first Earth Day can still be felt today.
Ecological Design Center co-Director Robyn Scofield said the creation of Earth Day can be linked to important environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, and the creation of groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency, both enacted in 1970. Scofield said such changes set an example for the rest of the world.
“Those legislations set us apart from other countries,” she said.
Scofield said the function of ECD is to bring environmental issues to the community level — addressing how development effects the environment and
finding practical, environment-friendly alternatives to design and energy consumption in urban development.
Kit Douglass, campus organizer for the OSPIRG, said she hoped this year’s Earth Day would bring more attention to legislation she said is being gutted by the current administration. Douglass, one of the key organizers of the Earth Day activities held on campus today, said she hopes to urge students and others to make Earth Day every day.
“I want it to be about more than making a daisy chain,” Douglass said. “We should be thinking about these issues 365 days a year.”
Contact the senior Pulse reporter at [email protected].