Earth Day – Go Green

Posted at April 22, 2009
Have you ever thrown a party and worried that no one would show up?
When the first Earth Day was announced, in the fall of 1969, those
of us involved had that worry, but not for long. That day -- April
22, 1970 -- millions of Americans participated in events across the
country, joining in to clean up a riverbank, attend a rally, build
a nature trail or organize a recycling program. 



The environmental movement was not born that day, but the
extraordinary outpouring of people from all walks of life gave the
cause of conservation, of caring for our planet, a huge step up as
a priority for Americans and, therefore, as a priority for those we
elect to make and administer our laws, Republicans and Democrats
alike. 

Invigorated by the public enthusiasm and concern around that first
Earth Day, politicians responded -- the Environmental Protection
Agency was established and, with the Clean Water and Clean Air
acts, given powerful new tools to curb pollutants that were fouling
our environment and threatening our health. The National
Environmental Policy Act gave the environment a seat at the table
in the office of the president, and it empowered ordinary citizens
with new tools to hold federal agencies accountable for the
environmental impacts of their projects. The Endangered Species Act
was passed. All were signed into law by President Richard Nixon. 

These actions grew from important seeds planted in earlier
landmarks such as the founding of the national parks beginning with
Yellowstone in 1872, and the progressive conservation crusade of
Teddy Roosevelt at the dawn of the 20th century. President Lyndon
Johnson successfully pressed Congress to enact the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, which
provided funding to protect local, state and federal parks and
forests. 

We can be grateful for all of this progress -- laws that provide
legal foundation for a running start, at long last, in seriously
addressing the grave peril of global climate change. 

We can be grateful, too, that in less than half a century, we have
proven that even on complex conservation issues, the public -- you
and I -- have a vital role to play, along with the experts who staff
our environmental agencies. 

The idea of public involvement in such decisions was a new thing
when Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964. A landmark of
world conservation progress, this law embodied the promise of
strongest possible legal protection -- by act of Congress -- for the
wildest, most natural parts of our national forests, national
parks, and other federal lands. And it gave the people a voice in
these decisions, first, as agencies like the U.S. Forest Service
considered what lands to suggest for this protection, and then
through our elected representatives in Congress -- as only Congress
can decide to extend this protection to additional lands. 

The power of the people in these decisions has been evidenced over
the past 45 years, as Congress has passed well over a hundred laws
designating additional wilderness areas. Just last month, President
Barack Obama signed a law adding over 2 million acres, across nine
states, to our National Wilderness Preservation System. 

Some of these are wild treasures with household names like California's
Eastern Sierra, Mount Hood in Oregon, Zion National Park in Utah,
and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Some are lesser-known
gems, like parts of Virginia's Jefferson National Forest, the
Monongahela in West Virginia, Idaho's Owyhee Canyonlands and the
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. 

Protecting some of our original earth helps keep our air and water
clean; provides unsurpassed opportunities for hiking, hunting,
camping and exploring; and preserves places for solitude and solace.
This Earth Day is a time to reflect on such progress. Thanks to our
long and bipartisan tradition of public involvement in conservation
work, we have every reason for confidence that we can make a
lasting difference for the future of our planet, and for the
generations who will inherit it. 

Doug Scott is policy director for the Campaign for America"s
Wilderness. As a grad student at the University of Michigan, he
helped organize the first Earth Day. He wrote this article for the
Progressive Media Project.