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Earth Day - A Retrospective

        To put Earth Day into proper perspective, a look back 
into the past must not stop at 22 years ago on the original 
Earth Day, April 22, 1970.  Some of the earliest significant 
contributions made to the environmental movement in the 
United States came more than a hundred years ago.  Much has 
happened in the last couple of decades, however, and the 
90's will surely be the most important for the environment 
so far.
        There has been a tendency to forget the many important 
contributions of great conservationists like John Muir, 
James Audubon, and Teddy Roosevelt.  They were some of the 
very first to recognize the importance of wilderness areas 
and biodiversity, to express concern over the effects of 
unbridled growth, and to actually do something about these 
issues.  But they didn't really see conservation as an end 
unto itself.  It took more time for this attitude to evolve.  
We should remember Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson who helped 
to set the stage for Earth Day by pointing out that modern 
civilization was doing environmental harm on a planetary 
scale.
        Gaylord Nelson, then a Wisconsin senator, founded Earth 
Day based on the Vietnam War campus "teach-in" concept.  An 
estimated 20 million Americans participated in marches, 
rallies, river clean-ups, speaking forums, and seminars.  
PBS devoted its entire daytime programming to Earth Day.  
The popular displeasure with the state of the Earth that was 
expressed that day has been credited for some important and 
lasting results, including the establishment of the EPA, the 
passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the 
defeat of seven incumbent congressmen with poor 
environmental records.  In meeting the goal of "setting the 
stage for a lot of needed legislation", Earth Day was a 
success.
                Unfortunately, the two decades following Earth Day 
saw little improvement in the environment, except for a few 
areas and in the first years of the 70's.  The American 
Fisheries Society says that there are at least 25 species of 
fish that have suffered tremendously for every one species 
that has gained strength since Earth Day.  Of the 1077 toxic 
waste sites the EPA targeted in 1981 for cleanup, only 30 
had been touched by 1990.  The Clean Air Act did lead to a 
reduction in air pollution, but subsequent growth in 
population took back the gains that were made.  And the 
Reagan Administration reduced U.S. funding to international 
population stabilization efforts.
        Earth Day 1990 was meant to be an even bigger event 
than the first Earth Day, and it was.  Its organizers 
recognized the increased number and size of local 
environmental groups, and incorporated the theme of local 
action into the 1990 event.  Another trend seen in the Earth 
Day 1990 celebration was more cooperation between big 
corporations and environmentalists.  The path on which these 
trends lead is both necessary and risky.  Necessary, for by 
making the environment a mainstream issue, it might receive 
mainstream attention and mainstream resources.  Risky, in 
that the difficult goals set in the beginning could be 
compromised, leading to superficial gains in the effort to 
turn around our declining quality of life.
        Gaylord Nelson has written, "The threads of the net 
that hold the world ecosystem are breaking and unraveling.  
Only a massive, coordinated, world-wide effort will save 
what is left of the natural world and repair some of the 
damage that has taken place."  The question of which nation 
will have the strength to lead the world through this is 
answered with us, the U.S.  Do we have the leadership 
required?  Not so far.  Can we get the leadership?  Maybe.  
Stay tuned.  Better yet, get involved.  There's still a 
chance to make a difference.
 
copyright 1992,  Daniel Helfrich

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Daniel Helfrich
Code 731.0
NASA/GSFC
Greenbelt, Md 20771
Voc: (301) 286-8481
E-mail:
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