Earth Day, Fifty Years Later

GUEST POST by JANET WEIL

On my fifteenth birthday, the U.S. environmental movement gave me the gift of a lifetime: Earth Day! Knowing my love of the natural world, my mother (a teacher) arranged for me to attend the rally at Portland (Oregon) State University.

My birthday presents were stacked next to my breakfast, and one was a lovely tan shirtwaist dress, with narrow green stripes and a green belt. I felt elegant and grown-up as I hopped on the bus for the long ride from my rural hometown to Oregon’s largest city. In my new dress, I was by far the most dressed-up girl at the  teach-in; the college students wore gray-blue bell-bottoms and grungy sweatshirts.  

A button promoting the first Earth Day, 1970

Earth Day – April 22, 1970 – had at least two catalysts. The first: the massive 1969 oil spill covering the beaches of Santa Barbara, California. The second: the photos of the Earth taken by astronauts, showing the fragile beauty of our little blue planet in the void of outer space.

Wisconsin Senator Nelson’s idea for environmental teach-ins on college campuses flowered into a national mobilization and kicked off the modern environmental movement. For more on the history of Earth Day, please see this.

The first Earth Day, April 22,1970, made headlines all over the world

At Portland State, I joined hundreds of students meeting outside under towering elm trees. A science professor spoke on a microphone at some length, followed by one student after another, speaking passionately about pollution, consumerism, overpopulation, the desecration of the natural world, the need for recycling, and many other issues.

Portland State University’s campus where the author joined Earth Day actions, 1970

As I listened, too shy to go up to the mic myself, I felt critical of the speakers’ use of a microphone, dependent on electricity produced by huge fish-killing dams on the Columbia River. Why not have a no-electricity teach-in? I wondered. (I would get my wish decades later, as I took part in the People’s Mic of the Occupy movement.)

Later I hung out with a friend from high school, now a PSU student, and her friends, all involved in the antiwar movement. We were only weeks away from the most personally shocking event of my youth: the killing of 4 college students at Kent State.

An iconic image of Kent State following the shooting of 4 unarmed student protesters, 1970

Being for the environment, and against war, seemed to us the most sane and interconnected politics, in a country that seemed to be at war against its own self.

Fifty years later… after decades in California, I am once again in Portland, once again engaged in what is now called the climate justice movement, specifically in the local chapter of Extinction Rebellion. In some ways I’ve come full circle, but with a weird twist: Earth Day 2020 will be a worldwide digital gathering as we stay home during COVID-19 contagion.

Earth Day, April 22, 2020 will be a virtual event due to COVID

My fellow/sister activists and I meet on zoom calls. We are passionately concerned about racism, the rise of fascism, and militarism, issues left mostly unaddressed on the first Earth Day. Our outdoor jaunts are not on the hiking trails of Mt Hood, but solo strolls or bicycling in our neighborhoods, or puttering in our gardens, or simply stepping out on an apartment balcony.

The new social isolation rules means time outdoors is often spent in solo activities

In 1970, a worldwide pandemic, and its freezing of economic activity and social/cultural life, was beyond most of our imaginations. A breakdown of the global climate caused by the uncontrolled rise of greenhouse gasses (although the science was known then) would have seemed equally far-fetched.

I am so impressed by the girl leaders of today’s climate movement – they are bolder, much better informed, and vastly more influential than I could have dreamed of being. In their passion in the face of dystopia, I recognize my 15-year-old self, and I bow to them in my heart, in gratitude.

A young climate activist, author photo

Few mobilizations endure for decades. That Earth Day has done so, despite greenwashing and hypocrisy, is a marvel. I feel rueful and sad, but also look forward to inspiration tomorrow.

A retired ESL teacher and newly fired-up climate/eco activist, Janet Weil lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She enjoys spending time with her extended family, and in the great bookstores and libraries in the metro area. She shares political views and her photography on Twitter: @JanetRWeil.