It probably is no surprise that Earth Day is deeply rooted in the Northwest. But it might come as a surprise to learn those roots sprang up locally — at least in part.
Denis Hayes, who grew up in Camas and attended Clark College before earning an undergraduate degree and a law degree from Stanford University, was the national coordinator for the inaugural Earth Day in 1970. Now 75 and board chair for the international Earth Day Network, Hayes is preparing to participate in the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The official day is next Wednesday, but activities are — well, were — scheduled throughout this weekend.
Not that the timing really matters; as the Earth Day Network’s website declares, “Earth Day is every day, and anywhere you are.” And while the COVID-19 pandemic will relegate participants to solo endeavors or online activities this year, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day warrants an examination of the environmental movement.
Seeming, at times, like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill, the environmental movement has advanced in fits and starts; nonetheless, it has had a significant role in improving the planet and, therefore, the lives of those who inhabit it. As Ron Judd writes for The Seattle Times: “The green movement has embedded planet-friendly practices in mainstream American life — even in its economy. … You have a framework, at least, for solving problems of planetary scale that wouldn’t otherwise exist.”
At the time of the inaugural Earth Day, industrial pollution standards were lax, recycling was largely unheard of, and nobody thought of preserving wetlands or limiting vehicle emissions. The federal Environmental Protection Agency had not yet been established, and we were less than one year beyond Cleveland’s filthy Cuyahoga River catching fire for the 13th — and last — time. As a headline in Smithsonian Magazine surmised last year: “The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969.”
Five decades later, we care even more, and returning to such an abusive relationship with our environment is unthinkable. Earth Day tapped into a changing zeitgeist and for the past 50 years has promoted humans’ connection to — and reliance on — our planet.
That reliance is highlighted these days by the threat of climate change. A warming planet is resulting in the melting of the polar caps, rising ocean levels, changing ecosystems, species extinction, extreme weather events, and changes to food and water supplies. A vast majority of climate scientists believe human activity — specifically, carbon emissions — have exacerbated naturally occurring changes to the climate.
As residents of a region that is plentiful with nature’s beauty, the people of the Northwest are intrinsically in tune with their environment. Concerns for the mountains, rivers, oceans and forests — and the creatures who inhabit them — long have influenced our public policies and personal recreation.
Even if this year’s Earth Day cannot be celebrated with group activities, there are ways to participate. You can plant a tree or fix a leaky faucet or donate to an environmental group. The Earth Day Network offers a list of simple ways in which anybody can help the planet — not just one day a year, but every day. We all have room for small lifestyle changes that will benefit the environment.
All of which makes Wednesday’s Earth Day worthy of acknowledgement. Events are planned in more than 190 nations, and tens of millions of people typically take part. That is a long way from humble beginnings in which Clark County played a small role.
