22 April 2008
Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, was the founder of Earth Day. The idea of Earth Day started in 1962 and took seven years to actually become “Earth Day” as we know it now. Evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere and while people were concerned, the politicians were not. The environmental issue simply was not on the nation’s political agenda. Sorry to say that issue has not been on the Bush administrations agenda either. It wasn’t until the spring of 1970 that there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and so Earth Day actually began. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. There was a fabulous response and American people finally had a way to express concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air.
When I was in the Peace Corps, as a teacher of English, in 1991, I had the pleasure of introducing “Earth Day” to my 5th thru 8th grade students in Esztergom, Hungary. It was shortly after the Russians left Eastern Europe and the U.S. was asked for English teachers as Hungary was dropping Russian as a second language. It was also the first time that the Peace Corps was in a non third world country. At that time, “Earth Day” was unheard of in that part of the world. The Director of the Peace Corps was in Hungary and came to observe my class on the environment. Armed with large plastic bags, I took my students and we went to a local park to pick up litter. A whole new concept in Hungary, it turned out to be a shock and awe media event, which landed on Hungarian news.
Today Earth Day is celebrated around the U.S. with tree planting, cleanup of local parks, beaches and highways and of course a greater awareness of the environment. It is finally reaching politicians too. Participate today!
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