by Stephanie Ho Lem, CHCA Director – Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
— Robert Swan
Earth Day came and went – what is Earth Day and what does it mean to you?
Prior to 1970, there were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. In spring 1970, US senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. In the same year, twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities for a healthier environment. Then on December 2, 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. What followed was the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Every year on April 22, for one day, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to show support for environmental protection and inspire appreciation of the environment. It came and went but are we doing enough to protect planet Earth?
Planet Earth deserves more respect, and with climate change things are getting worse, more than we could have imagined. In a recent Herald article, they said, “Unwillingness to sacrifice is ruining the planet”. The author asks, “Would you give up your SUV for a hybrid vehicle, forgo the annual Hawaii holiday for a camping trip, eat less or no meat, take public transit instead of driving, shop less, switch off lights and the computer, forego the purchase of or turn down the AC?”
Every day we see and hear of “increasingly frequent, unpredictable, and punishing droughts, storms, floods, and hurricanes, yet sacrifice is still mostly out of the question. It seems the only thing we’re truly prepared to give up is the future.”
Sources:
• Calgary Herald – “Little to Praise on Earth Day” – Nicholas Read
• epa.gov
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