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Although it took six years for Earth Day to become a national observance, by spring of 1970, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson’s concept rooted itself firmly in the American mind.
The first Earth Day took place in April 1970, after Nelson saw the effects of a bad California oil spill and passed a bill to set aside one day a year to celebrate our planet.
This bill was an overwhelming success — at least 20 million Americans and thousands of schools and communities participated in the holiday, and many important environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, were passed in its wake.
 Children have close encounters with some desert reptiles at the Gray Hawk Nature Center's tent on Earth Day last year. The Center will return to Earth Day at the Sierra Vista Farmers Market with all sorts of creepy crawlies. (Photo courtesy of Valerie McCaffrey) |
Today, Earth Day is more popular than ever, and every April 22, more than 500 million people celebrate it worldwide.
By the fall of 1969, Nelson had enough support to announce a national start of Earth Day in the spring of 1970.
The press caught the idea, and the grassroots effort took off.
“The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes and air — and they did so with spectacular exuberance,” commented the Wisconsin senator.
“Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated,” observed Nelson. “That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.”
Many schools across the nation and locally, as well as environmental groups, are involved in projects to heighten the awareness of the planet’s decline and need for the constructive attention of everyone.
The recent United Nations Report on global warming is a further goal in encouraging the public’s involvement in halting abuses to nature, and mainstreaming major efforts to correct the downward plunge for future generations.
Sierra Vista Earth Day and Farmers’ Market
Saturday, a joint Sierra Vista Earth Day event and farmers’ market are scheduled for the northwest corner of Wilcox and Carmichael from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Earth Day at the Sierra Vista Farmers Market will showcase outdoor recreational opportunities on public lands and activities such as hiking, biking, birding, gardening and star gazing.
Demonstrations of solar cooking, rain water harvesting, goat milking and composting with worms will take place.
A petting zoo will include pygmy goats, snakes and other creepy crawlies. Great bluegrass fiddle music will be provided by three bands.
Recycle 20-ounce soda bottles to fund a community garden.
TerraCycle Plant Food will reuse the bottles and donate 5 cents per bottle collected to help create a community or school vegetable garden in Sierra Vista — soda bottles only, with labels removed and caps on.
Find out from the Worm Woman and Worm Man how to get worms to eat your garbage.
The farmers market will offer naturally-grown foods raised in Cochise County, lots of native plants as well as starts and seeds for spring planting.
More than 60 information and farmers market vendors will be at the event. Call 378-2973, for information.
Schools recycling at Sierra Vista event
Bring your plastic bags and aluminum cans for recycling at the Sierra Vista Earth Day and Farmers’ Market. Huachuca Mountain Elementary School will be recycling plastic bags and all money raised will go toward hiring a reading specialist for the school. They recently competed in the Wal-Mart Kids Recycling Challenge statewide collecting between 3,600-4,800 pounds of plastic.
Sierra Vista Middle School will be recycling aluminum cans and all proceeds will go to leveling the floor of the open air ramada for a gaming area for students.
The school already has ping-pong tables in storage and when completed, this area will coordinate with the school’s Wellness Program while making it easy to supervise students.
Both schools have Friday recycling and you are welcome to participate.
Earth Day provides an additional day to help the schools and the environment.
For information call Huachuca Mountain (515-2960) or SVMS (515-2930).
City and county hold recycling events
Cochise County
— Sierra Vista Transfer Station, 7201 E. Highway 90
— 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday (Earth Day)
— Sponsored by Cochise County Facilities and Solid Waste, in conjunction with Cochise County Learning Advisory Council Inc.
— Free drop-off for county residents and commercial entities in the county and cities.
— What to drop off: computers (laptop and towers); computer monitors and TV monitors; keyboards, speakers, fax machines, scanners and other accessories and cables; other electronics such as VCRs and electronic office equipment.
— Contact: Solid Waste Department, 432-9750; or Mike Rohrbach of CCLAC, 432-3595.
— On the Web: American Retroworks Inc., www.retroworks.com; Cochise County, www.co.cochise.az.us/recycle/
Sierra Vista
— Pedro Castro Center at 401 Giulio Cesare
— 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Earth Day)
— Sponsored by the city of Sierra Vista.
— Free drop-off provided for residents of Sierra Vista; bring your city sewer/sanitation bill.
— What to drop off: out-of-date telephones, televisions, computers and other electronic equipment.
— Contact: Sierra Vista Public Works Department, 458-5775; City Hall, 458-3315.
— Web: www.ci.sierra-vista.az.us/Public%20Works/index.htm
View the stars
Saturday, the Huachuca Astronomy Club will commemorate National Astronomy Day and its seventh annual “Telescopes in the Park” by hosting public astronomical viewing at Veterans’ Memorial Park’s Howard Field from 5 to 11 p.m. The public and their families are invited to view through the telescopes and ask questions of club members.
There will be views of the planets Saturn and Venus, the Moon and many of its craters along with several very distant celestial objects such as star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies.
This event is free, although donations to support the Huachuca Astronomy Club are encouraged. A raffle will be held for a new Celestron 4.5-inch Telescope. For information, contact Keith Mullen at either 366-0049 or e-mail at repogazer@msn.com.
Bisbee Earth Day events
Bisbee’s observance is the following Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Warren’s Vista Park. Organizers promise educational and environmental booths, arts and crafts for sale, plus live entertainment. Natural foods booths and mini massages, a circus parade, and a traditional May pole are major aspects of the 2007 event. For details, contact Caryl Marie Brendle at 432-7692.
The San Pedro picnic area off Charleston Road between Tombstone and Sierra Vista is to be the site of a Sunday, April 22, free public gathering sponsored by the Sacred Valley Coven (Witchvox). Those attending are urged to bring a picnic lunch although some finger foods and drinks are to be provided. The sponsors invite their guests to bring trash bags for a riverside cleanup. “Open Ritual, including Earth healing meditation,” and kids activities are included. Guests are asked to respond by phoning 823-2282.
Senator Nelson was shocked that “that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country,” back in 1962. He sought to put the environment in the “political limelight once and for all.” Obtaining President John Kennedy’s approval, a hesitant start was initiated, but it took six years for the germ ultimately to flower into Earth Day.
Tucson events
Oracle State Park
Oracle State Park’s Center for Environmental Education will celebrate Earth Day Saturday. “Fire on the Mountain” is this year’s theme, and the event will be chock full of handy — even fun — ways to keep yourself, your kids and your property safe from fire in the upcoming wildfire season.
Presentations throughout the day feature useful, fire-wise information for safeguarding homes against wildfires, as well as a variety of activities and educational booths. A plant sale will allow attendees to learn about and purchase fire-resistant plants for their gardens. Information on the Firewise program will be available as well.
In addition to the fire-themed highlights, there will be guest speakers and activities. Guided trail walks depart throughout the day. A variety of guest speakers will educate and entertain park guests at the Earth Day celebration. Two live-animal presentations will be conducted. Musical performances are also planned. To get to Oracle State Park, take highway 77 to Oracle, and turn right on Oracle’s main street, American Avenue. Follow it for two miles to Mount Lemmon Road; the park is one mile up Mount Lemmon Road.
University of Arizona
UA students are hosting an event Thursday to unite all who want to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. At the university campus, you can see many different kinds of energy — efficient vehicles like hybrid and ethanol cars— which will be exhibited right on the mall, and visit a huge variety of booths run by eco-friendly organizations, businesses and student clubs.
“Mainly,” says Stephan Classen, the president of the UA’s Student Recycling Association, “this event is about honoring the Earth and supporting environmental issues, being in touch with nature and realizing just how important the Earth is to us. And if people could work more on the gas issue, they’d see that even on a small scale, they can make a difference. And save money, too.”
The event is free.
UA Earth Day 2007: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday at the Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson. Call (520) 777-6164.
Tucson Weekly staff reports contributed to this article.
Patty wrote on Jan 18, 2009 10:40 PM: