America’s 48th Earth Day approaches
By: Alexis Morgan
It was an oil spill in 1969 in Santa Barbara, California and nearly a decade of fighting for environmental justice that inspired U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson to create the first Earth Day in 1970, according to Earthday.org. The date of April 22 was chosen because it was between Spring Break and final exams at universities, and they wanted as much student participation as possible, as listed on the Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day website.
Today, Earth Day is still celebrated every April 22, and this year will be its 48th anniversary.
On a national scale, Earth Day takes place every year, where are events are created all over the country by people who love the earth, just like it was in 1970, according to the Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day website. It also states that newspapers had to start hiring people to cover the environmental beat because the mere idea of Earth Day was gaining so much traction.
According to Zoe Gordon of the Arizona Conservation Corps, some of Flagstaff, Arizona’s biggest environmental concerns are, “related to the overall litter just like any city or town, and also there are a lot of problems we try to mitigate involving invasive species in the area.”
Tia Nelson, daughter of Earth Day founder and current Managing Director for Climate at the Outrider Foundation, often speaks to children regarding this annual event.
“Whenever I give Earth Day talks to kids, I say it’s important that you believe in your own power. It’s important that if you remember nothing else from what I say today, my father was just a little child in a little town, just like you,” Nelson said, “He had a really big dream, and he grew up and fulfilled that dream and was more successful than he ever could have imagined. We all have that opportunity to make a difference.”
Her father’s legacy lives on today in many ways. “The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the adoption of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act would certainly be three of the most important things to come after the first Earth Day,” Nelson said.
It also lives on through Nelson herself, since she was 13 and had the chance to experience the inaugural Earth Day firsthand.
“For that first Earth Day my school did what many schools around the country did, we cleaned up the school grounds and picked up trash around the neighborhood. That was very common among many things that happened on the first earth day,” Nelson said.
The importance of Earth Day may be at an all time high as there are politics involved in many decisions being made about the environment. Nelson said, “I think Earth Day is still quite relevant and important… Especially in these hyper-politicized times in which the environment has become a partisan issue.”
According to Nelson, “These are really disconcerning times because you can’t make sound public policy without sound science. I think the attacks on science are most concerning.”
It is important that the government acknowledges the importance of this day, and cities all across America have events put on by local government to bring up how important Earth Day really is for the environment.
The City of Flagstaff, Arizona will be holding an event at Bushmaster Park on Saturday April 21 beginning at 9 am according to Maggie Twomey, the coordinator of the Earth Day event.
Twomey said, “We have been doing this event for almost two decades, and Earth Day has traditionally been hosted downtown… this year we moved it out into the community. We moved it to Bushmaster Park, which is an eastside community. The event starts out at 9 o’clock with a community clean-up.”
According to Twomey, gloves, trash and recycling bags, hand sanitizer, and a safety vest will all be provided to participants. Anyone can register to participate in the event for free by contacting Twomey via email: mtwomey@flagstaffaz.gov.
“I would say that the people in Flagstaff set the event apart. Our community members are really what make the event as special as it is,” said Twomey, “We get a huge turn out, and the people that come to Earth Day really are excited to be there and really love living in Flagstaff.”
The idea behind holding Earth Day events is to raise awareness about taking care of the earth. “I think it’s always a good feeling to see your efforts result in a positive impact,” said Gordon.
The event will also include vendors and different workshops once the clean-up has ended. There will be a mushroom gardening, backyard composting, and a rainwater harvesting workshop. By attending the rainwater harvesting one, you will be entered to win one of many free rain barrels.
They are still looking for more volunteers to help set up, according to Twomey, and they can also contact her with the previous email with any questions.
Nelson said, “In many ways, a lot of people like to think of everyday being Earth Day now.” It is a tradition that has carried on for decades, and as long as the people support it, then it will prosper just like it did on its first go around in 1970.
More information about the Earth Day Flagstaff can be found on this website: https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/1439/Earth-Day.