Thirty-seven years ago the very first modern Earth Day was conceived by John McConnell, an evangelical Christian. On Mr. McConnell's web home page he states "All individuals and institutions have a mutual responsibility to act as Trustee of Earth, seeking the choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, foster peaceful progress, awaken the wonder of life, and realize the best potential for the future of the human adventure." The day proclaimed by the United Nations for this original recognition and celebration of the twentieth century Earth Day is the Vernal Equinox or March 21. Historically, many cultures have observed this date as the "New Year" or " Spring Day" or "Nature's Day" or other designations. It is a day for universal appreciation and affirming of our collective stewardship of our planet. It's the day when light and darkness are equal, symbolizing the dawning of a new cycle of life---the time of rebirth.
So why then do we in the U.S. celebrate Earth Day on April 22? It seems that during that same year (1970), Senator Gaylord Nelson enlisted a Harvard law student, Denis Hayes to coordinate a nationwide Earth Day event that was targeted to college students on April 22. Forty-two states, correspondingly passed resolutions commemorating Earth Day on April 22 and that date is now fairly well set in stone for Americans. (An interesting side note is that this day is the birthday of both Vladimir Lenin and St. Francis of Asisi.)
As we trace backwards a century or two we find that an awareness and reverence for nature and wild places was being conveyed through the writings of forward thinking American's of the 1800's like George Perkins Marsh, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Law Olmsted, J. Sterling Morton (Arbor Day), Charles Almanzo Babcock (Bird Day), John Muir, John Burroughs, John Wesley Powell, Ernest Thompson Seton and others. This era gave birth to the establishment of our National Parks and Forests.
Progressing toward the 19th century, it became clear that we the people couldn't completely rely on our government agencies to conscientiously manage our lands and resources. Hence, The Sierra Club, our first independent environmental advocacy organization was established on May 28, 1892.
It appears that efforts to conserve our resources and save the pristine lands of "The Great Mother" are more crucial than ever these days. Unfortunately, our busy lives don't always allow time for us to take part in an on-going conservation project---Even though I try, I don't make it out every year for our local "Truckee River Day". So I pick a couple of organizations and donate what I can in support of their efforts. No matter how tight my finances are I figure that this is the least I can do. I encourage others to do the same.
For a partial list of hard-working organizations that are striving to preserve and protect our wild life, wilderness, habitat, and resources. click here.
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