One day to save dying planet

“Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” The essence of the war that has long been fought for is captured in a single quote. This Cree proverb vocalizes the inevitable. Without fighting for change, we will lead ourselves to our own demise. In a time of public outcry, protests, and defiance, fighting for a cause that we believe in is nothing alien. Our era is marked as one of resistance. Applying this to environmental awareness and consciousness is not foreign in the modern age. However, this was not always the case. Earth Day was created as a medium to express the urgency of environmental protection and conservation.

First celebrated on April 22, 1970, the story of Earth Day begins many years prior. Companies were handling their waste carelessly and producing excessive air pollution without proper repercussions. The depletion of the environment was accepted as a sacrifice necessary in the process of creating a successful nation. A massive oil spill in Santa Barbara California functioned as a catalyst that inspired Senator Gaylord Nelson to take action. He allied himself with Pete McCloskey, a Republican congressman, and Denis Hayes, an activist. Together they organized teach-ins, meetings where issues are discussed to raise awareness, all across the country.

The development of Earth Day is due largely to the schedule of the college students themselves. Being their target demographic, they had to choose a date that would ensure peak participation. April 22 happened to fall between final exams and Spring Break. Without these potential obstacles, the date was decided upon and finalized.

The years following were charged with urgency and action. After 20 years of protests, assemblies, and gatherings, on Earth Day 1990, Earth Day was taken to the global level. Now, more than 50 years after the first Earth Day, the conservation of natural resources, habitats, and the Earth itself is more important than ever. With projects such as the Willow Project, oil drilling in Alaska, being passed, we face a severely damaged and debilitated Earth that only seems to be getting worse. NASA statistics reveal that sea levels have risen 4 inches since 1993, a global temperature increase of 1.1 percent, a decrease of 427 billion metric tons of ice sheets annually, etc. We are in a climate crisis and it is something that we cannot ignore. Our battle with climate change has not yet been won. However, there are ways that we can aid in the recovery and replenishment of the planet.

The nature of Earth day can be compared to that of a coin. On one side, there is the fight, the urgency, and the resistance. On the other, there is the celebration of the Earth; of the natural world. One carries a negative connotation, the other more positive, but they cannot exist without one another. Without acknowledging the beauty of the planet, we lose sight of what we are working towards. Likewise, solely acknowledging beauty does not contribute to the recuperation of the planet. While celebrating Earth Day, it’s important to balance both aspects. Although the importance of environmental conservation was present in the 70s, our technology was not. We can use social media and our access to unlimited resources to spread awareness of climate change.

Another possible celebration is to plant something such as a tree or a flower. Participation in a protest is a celebration of Earth Day closely linked to the roots of the holiday. A way to participate locally is to take part in the Solano Clean Up on Earth Day itself.

Our fight for a cleaner and healthier Earth is not over yet. Money is prioritized by the greedy, at the expense of the planet and subsequently, everyone that lives on it. For every Earth Day choose to embrace the multifaceted coin and not the one-dimensional dollar bill.