The first Earth Day in April 1970 forced the environment onto the political agenda in the United States for the first time. Thousands of colleges and universities organised protests against the deterioration of the environment.
Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realised they shared common values.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labour leaders.
The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.
It is still a time for the community to come together; and such a good time of year for us to celebrate the environment.
The weather is warming up and inviting us outside, the garden is demanding our attention, it is a lovely time of year for a walk in one of our nature reserves, and even the Annual Agricultural Exhibition this year falls just before Earth Day.
Let us consciously use this natural momentum to do something for the environment. This Earth Day why not organise your own Green Event. Perhaps a family walk at Spittal Pond, a clean-up in your church grounds, an assembly or invited speaker at school, or a community trashathon.
I am sure you have your own ideas as well. In the spirit of community action we encourage you to register your Green Event on the Greenrock website at www.greenrock.org/earthday. If you are looking for something to do this Earth Day you can go to our website to check out green events near you. If you don't want to organise or participate in an event, then register your own Act of Green. This is the theme of the Earth Day Network, which has set a goal of a Billion Acts of Green be counted as an Act of Green for Bermuda!
At Greenrock we have made our own personal commitment to an Act of Green, and also our organisational ones: in partnership with the Bermuda National Trust we have been collecting student videos for our Earth Day video competition; in partnership with AES we are hoping to install the first 'Hydration Stations' (water-bottle filling stations) in Hamilton; and we are co-hosting a visit by Algalita Founder, Captain Charles Moore who is talking about plastic pollution in the ocean. Please let us know what you are doing to celebrate Earth Day.
