Celebrate Earth Day 2014

This news article featuring Earth Day 2014 is brought to you by Michigan State University.

 

 

What do the Clean Water Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, The Endangered Species Act and The Toxic Substances Control Act all have in common? Yes, they are all important pieces of environmental legislation. They also are all a direct result of the first Earth Days in 1970.

 

Prior to 1970, protecting the environment was not on the national agenda. Pollution was dumped in waterways, buried on the land and spewed into the air because there were no consequences for doing it – legally, economically or ethically. Maybe one of the culminating events that caught people’s attention about environmental pollution was the 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. There was no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate pollution or polluters.

 

There are actually two Earth Days celebrated annually. The first one that most do not know about is celebrated on the vernal equinox – either March 20 or 21 each year. This Earth Day, started in 1970, was the idea of publisher John McConnell who suggested an event to focus attention on everyone’s shared responsibility for environmental stewardship. He selected the vernal equinox because that day is seen as the renewal of the earth after a dormant winter. This Earth Day was supported by the United Nations where a proclamation was signed saying the UN would celebrate Earth Day at the precise time of the vernal equinox by ringing the Peace Bell at the UN in New York City.

 

 

For more information on Earth Day 2014, please visit the Michigan State University link above.  Please contact Nexreg for information on Regulatory Services.