Earth Day originated in 1970 after Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin witnessed the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He hoped it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.
Here is an excerpt of his speech on Earth Day from CBS
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 industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment and there were massive coast-to-coast rallies in cities, towns, and communities. Earth Day included environmental teach-ins that educated Americans about environmental and species conservation issues, and connected those issues to their health and well-being.
By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including 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 Rodenticid
This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. The enormous challenge — but also the vast opportunities — of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary.
What has changed since Earth Day related to energy and climate?
ENERGY
1 Eighty percent of US energy consumed is from fossil fuels, but the share of US energy consumption from nuclear and renewable sources has nearly doubled since 1980 to 20% in 2019. Forty-two percent of US renewable and nuclear energy consumption is from nuclear sources, followed by 25% from biomass like wood and biofuels.
2 The average American generated 4.5 lbs of solid trash (food waste, paper, etc.) daily in 2017, up from 3.6 lbs per day in 1980.
CLIMATE
1 In 1980, the average US county had good air quality 59% of days. In 2018, the average county had good air quality 81% of days.
2 2019 was the second-warmest year globally in the 140-year record, with temperatures 1.71°F (0.95°C) warmer than the 20th century average. 2016 was the warmest year on record.
3.Between 1895 and 2019, the average temperature in 50% of US counties rose more than 2.7°F (1.5°C), a key threshold of climate warming identified by NASA.
St Peter’s has a long-term commitment care for and bring healing to creation in a variety of ways, including learning about the theology behind why we Christians are to care for creation. We pay special attention to these theological issues during The Season of Creation each September. Active things we do include recycling, shredding, giving up the use of plastic water bottles and Styrofoam in the church, and the installation of a rain barrel and now a compost bin!