An invitation for Earth Day

It occurred to me the other day that the next April 22 will be the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day.  Back in 1970, I was in Grade 10 when the first Earth Day took place.  I remember writing flyers for a day to door information canvas.   The issues of the day were the threat of eutrophication from phosphates in detergent, DDT and acid rain.

Across North America, the first Earth Day was mostly observed through “teach-ins.”  It was the brain child of Senator Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes.  The goal was awareness raising and education.  

Since that time, those threats have receded.  DDT has been banned.  Phosphates in detergents have been banned.  And the seven eastern provinces committed to reducing sulphur dioxide by 50% and the US met Canada’s standard and also committed to a 50% cut leading largely to removing the spectre of acidification of our lakes and rivers.

And from small beginnings Earth Day has emerged as an annual event.  Sometimes it has been lavish, with gala media star-studded concerts. Vanity Fair started doing Green themed magazines. Celebrity sizzle was added to the grassroots nature of Earth Day.

Here we are forty years after the first Earth Day. We can celebrate many victories, but the truth is, we have never faced such peril.  The climate crisis outweighs any other previous environmental threat.  In fact, it is such a large menace that the adjective “environmental” hardly applies.  It is a threat to our survival as a civilization.  Yet, governments fudge and delay.  The Harper government does not even grasp the science and certain elements of media proclaim there is no solid science.

We need to get back to the basics of the first Earth Day.  As the deadlines for Greenhouse Gas reduction loom, the date by which we should be 80-90% below 1990 levels is 2050.  Forty years from now.  So we are at an interesting time point.  We are exactly mid-way between the first Earth Day and the year by which we should essentially be a post-carbon society.

I hope that Greens across the country will organize or join in with Earth Day events organized as Teach-ins to educate about climate, green technologies, science, “how to talk to a climate denier” and other topics leading to a re-building of momentum toward the COP16 negotiations in Mexico.  

We have forty years of success to celebrate while we lay the groundwork so that our children can celebrate forty more years of success in 2050.