By Marie, CRP Leader, San Diego
Picture plumes of thick, black, toxic smoke pouring from factory chimneys and noxious sludge and waste dumped unfettered into streams and lakes. Before 1970, that was precisely how industry worked. Factories poisoned our air and water indiscriminately and no one could hold them to legal account.
Then on April 22,1970, twenty million people took to the streets and rallied in cities across our nation. They protested and made their voices heard by the politicians of their day. Because of this movement, the EPA was created on December 2, 1970, and the Clean Air Act of 1970 became law by the end of the year. A few years later, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act were passed into law all because of the successes of Earth Day.
On April 22, 2020, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in the same spirit of that first day and build on its legacy. Yes, times have changed and we are in the middle of a pandemic. But we will raise our voice, advocate, protest, act, and educate. Technology makes all this possible to take place online and digitally.
This anniversary, the theme for Earth Day is Climate Action, and it’s expected to activate a billion people in 190 countries around the world.
For a detailed history of Earth Day, please read The History of Earth Day.
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