The first blog in a series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.
Each year on the 22nd of April, people of all backgrounds, places, and spaces come together to celebrate the one thing that unifies us: Earth. The first Earth Day led 20 million people to flood streets and participate in teach-ins as the birth of the modern environmental movement took place. Fifty years later, Earth Day looks a little different. It’s relevancy, however, is sustained by a call to address the most crucial threat of our time – climate change. In 1970, this call was answered by a massive march, a new holiday, and sign making. Today, it is answered in digital action and creative problem solving.
Earth Day was born during the ’60s. Think civil rights, the Vietnam War and women’s liberation igniting pandemonium in the country, contrasting the submissive tone of the decade before. Born from a time of chaos and now being celebrated in another one, the last 50 years of Earth Days have seen it all. Now, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day. On the celebration of the first ever Earth Day, activists wore face masks to protest the unhealthy air quality and pollution. Now, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommending we all wear face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is hard not to draw parallels. The fights against the coronavirus and the climate crisis go hand-in-hand and as we work to flatten the curve of this pandemic, we must also strive toward the longer term goal of building a society rooted in sustainability and justice.
Children protest in New York City for the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. Image by Santi Visalli/Getty Images
Environmental activists were radical. They were loud, creative, gutsy-demanding action and gaining momentum quickly. Their methods paid off, and Earth Day helped set the agenda for some of the first national environmental legislation, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. The social and cultural environments we saw in 1970 are rising up again today — a fresh and frustrated generation of young people are refusing to settle for staleness and organizing by the millions. Digital platforms and social media are bringing these conversations, protests, strikes and mobilizations to a global audience, especially now, uniting a concerned citizenry as never before and energizing generations to join together to take on the greatest challenge that modern humankind has faced.
For many, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day serves as both a reminder of accomplishments since the 1970’s and what is left to be done. This year’s celebration may seem odd, irrelevant, or even lack luster, but now more than ever we must remember the origins of Earth Day. We must stand unified in the fight for a better future, and get creative in solving our biggest problems.
You can celebrate this year by participating in a three day Earth Day Live celebration. For a schedule of events, hosts, and activities visit https://www.earthdaylive2020.org/. For more history of Earth Day and a 24 hour 50th Anniversary Livestream Event, visit https://www.earthday.org/.
Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.