So there I was, 15 years old on April 22, 1970. My dad had always driven me the two miles to Ballard High School because he drove right past it on his way to work at the UW. Today I told him I would walk. He asked why, and I said because it was Earth Day, a day to stand up for the earth. He said that walking to school for one day wouldn’t make a difference. "It’ll make a difference to me," I said. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, this week’s hike of the week is dedicated to encouraging all of us to make a difference, if only for one day. Contribute to changing our society’s auto-centric focus to one that considers walking, hiking, biking, kayaking and skipping to be more earth friendly than burning fossil fuels. Fifty years ago, there was no Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Water Act, or Clean Air Act. Rivers caught on fire from industrial wastes. The air in LA was heavy with particulates. Acid rain threatened east coast states. The ozone layer was dying. Today, our air is far cleaner, our waters much healthier, ozone is replenishing, and we don't hear as much about acid rain. On the other hand, today our CO2 levels have risen from the low 300s to the low 400s, unprecedented since long before the dinosaurs. Glaciers and ice caps are melting at horrendous rates, whole species are dying out by the tens of thousands, seas are rising, temperatures rising, and resources are stretched to the breaking point. How can we make a difference today? Consider a walk instead of a car trip. Pick up litter as you walk. Donate to one of our local land trusts or environmental organizations. Help an organization that you love to survive in these difficult times. Help improve some corner of your neighborhood. Remove some invasives, plant a garden, clean a beach, paint out graffiti. Take an online class to learn something new about our earth, gain a new skill to care for it. Share your story about what you did on April 22, 1970. Share a pic if you have one! And share your story about what you did in April of 2020. Share a photo, and we’ll post that too if you wish.Send us an email or reply to this blog or write us a letter or postcard or say hi if we pass somewhere on a trail or city sidewalk. Happy trails! Hiking is not only good for the earth, it’s good for the health of our bodies, the creative energies of our minds, and our spiritual well being too. Solvitur ambulando, the saying goes: literally, it is solved in the walking. History of Earth Day: Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. He recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they choose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams. Recognizing its potential to inspire all Americans, Hayes promoted events across the land and the effort soon broadened to include a wide range of organizations, faith groups, and others. They changed the name to Earth Day, which immediately sparked national media attention, and caught on across the country. Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — to take to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of a growing legacy of serious human health impacts. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act. A year after that, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws have protected millions of men, women and children from disease and death and have protected hundreds of species from extinction. The following thoughts are courtesy of our local RE Sources’ group from an online lesson about Earth Day: We live on the traditional and ancestral lands of the Coast Salish People. They are the original stewards of this land and have been living here since time immemorial, taking great care of the land, the waters, and beings in this place we all now call home. Their cultures are deeply intertwined with the earth and suffer greater losses due to the degradation of the environment. Let’s remember the importance of our collective power to TAKE ACTION. Walk, bike, skateboard, rollerblade, moondance, kayak, swim or run. Participate in a march (but not right now!) Support our local farmworkers Grow a garden Think before you buy Be mindful of water use Shop locally to support our community Compost food scraps or feed them to goats, pigs, or chickens Save leftover food Reduce the amount of single-use plastics we use Pick up litter around your neighborhood Be good to bees and butterflies Help educate others about the environmental concerns you are most passionate about. And here are some photos to spark more imagination about what others are doing this month: Check out the Zoom presentation on April 28 at 7 pm, with Maribeth Crandell and Jack Hartt sharing about Hiking VERY Close to Home: hiking in the days of Covid-19. Presented in cooperation with Transition Fidalgo & Friends. Details at https://www.transitionfidalgo.org
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Maribeth Crandell has been a hiking guide in the Pacific NW for over 20 years. She's lived on Whidbey and Fidalgo Island for decades. As a frequent bus rider she easily makes connections between trails and transit. Archives by date
April 2024
Categories
All
|