Earth Day
Earth Day is April 22 and is a day in which we celebrate our beautiful planet and take part in activities that are beneficial to the environment.
Background
Here is a brief history of Earth Day written by the founder himself, Senator Gaylord Nelson
What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.
Actually for several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.
I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.
After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?
I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.
At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.
Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:
"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam. . .a national day of observance of environmental problems. . . is being planned for next spring. . .when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in' . . . coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned. . ."
It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
50 Earth Day Tips!
At Home!
In the kitchen...
- Set the refrigerator temperature between 38 F and 42 F.
- Set the freezer temperature between O F and 5 F.
- Microwave whenever you can.
- Don't wash dishes with the water running.
In the dining room...
- Use napkin rings and cloth napkins.
- Use washable plates, cups and silverware.
- Serve condiments from recyclable containers.
- Provide personal glasses for soft drinks.
In the laundry...
- Wash and dry only full loads.
- Wash with warm water instead of hot.
- Rinse with cold water instead of warm.
- Hang wash out to dry.
In the bathroom...
- Shut off the sink while brushing your teeth.
- Shut off the shower while soaping or scrubbing.
- Install a low-flow shower head.
- Reduce the volume of water in your toilet tank.
In the living room...
- Switch off unnecessary lights.
- Dress warm: don't turn up the furnace.
- Dress cool: don't turn on the air conditioner.
- Raise shades on winter days; lower them in summer.
- Reverse your fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
In the yard...
- Compost leaves and grass clippings.
- Avoid pesticides, use nontoxic alternatives.
- Apply only as much fertilizer as the lawn needs.
- Water the grass early in the morning.
- Plant a tree.
In the garage...
- Recycle motor oil, antifreeze and car batteries.
Away from Home!
In the car...
- Drive at the speed limit.
- Avoid sudden starts or stops.
- Don't overfill the fuel tank.
- Check the tire pressure monthly.
- Change air and oil filters regularly.
At the store . . .
- Don't buy over packaged items.
- Choose products in reusable and/or recyclable containers.
- Buy concentrated cleaners and detergents.
- Return empty bottles and cans for deposit.
- Bring your own string bag or cloth tote.
At work...
- Send electronic copies whenever possible.
- Copy reports and memos on both sides.
- Circulate rather than copy paperwork.
- Reuse tubes and envelopes for mailing.
- Recycle.
At play...
- Carry out what you carry in.
- Hike, row, sail, ski or paddle - don't motor.
- Build campfires with care.
- Observe, don't disturb wildlife and plant life.
- Share books, cassettes, magazines and videotapes with friends, hospitals and prisons.
At school . . .
- Copy bulletins and exams on two sides, make notes and drafts on scrap paper.
- Reuse textbooks and school supplies.
- Serve reusable trays, dishes and silverware.
- Compost cafeteria vegetable wastes.
- Recycle!
Activities/Events You Can Organize!
Litter Clean-up
You and your group will help the environment by removing garbage from bike paths, parks, school grounds, nature trails, community centers, etc. Use our Let's Pick It Up New York Litter Booklet (PDF, 279 KB) to organize your event. When your cleanup event is completed, and your Litter Report form is sent to us, we will send your group a "Certificate of Appreciation," a thank-you for a great job!
School Recycling Program
According to our latest numbers, New Yorkers generate about 5.0 pounds of trash each day. There is a tremendous cost to both society and the environment to collect and dispose of this waste material. In addition, if we are landfilling or incinerating our wastes, the resources contained in those waste materials are no longer available to us in a useful form. The advent of widespread recycling has changed the way many of us view our trash. Instead of a useless "waste", we have come to realize that much of what we once threw away can be used again many times over.
Your school can set up a recycling program. Use our "A School Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling. Composting & Buy Recycled Resource Book" (PDF, 890KB) to help set up a comprehensive solid waste management program.
New York Recycles! Poster Contest
We are once again inviting all of New York State's public and private school children and youth organizations to showcase their artistic talent and their commitment to the environment by participating in the Annual New York Recycles! Poster Contest. This poster contest will help us to achieve our goal of higher excellence in recycling, composting, and buying recycled products and packaging.
New York Recycles!
It is our way of promoting recycling and buying recycled in New York State. Various educational waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and buy recycled events will take place through out the year. This will lead to a celebration of New York Recycles! on November 15. Check out our website to find out more on New York Recycles!
Deposit Bottle & Can Drive
The Great Bottle Round-Up is an opportunity for your school or youth organization to collect deposit cans and bottles! You collect deposit cans and bottles and return them for their deposits and then let us know how well you did. Call us at (518) 402-8705 for the booklet on setting up a Bottle Round-Up.
Office Recycling Program
Saving natural resources and energy, extending the life of our landfills and promoting environmental awareness are important reasons to recycle office paper. When paper making industries produce paper, they have a choice. They can make new paper out of "wood pulp" from trees, or they can produce new paper from used, recycled paper from your office or school. Check out our STOP - Save That Office Paper booklet to find out more on setting up a paper recycling program.
Remember...Every Day is Earth Day!
