Courtesy of Vince Reardon:
Earth Day celebrates its 47th birthday on April 22. Believe it or not, the movement grew out of bipartisan support in Congress. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a Democrat distressed by a 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, and Congressman Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman from California, teamed up with academics, students and community organizers to stage massive coast-to-coast rallies. Twenty million Americans of all ages took part in this watershed moment in the history of the environmentalism.
Today, Earth Day is celebrated more than one billion people every year — the largest secular observance in the world. How can you get involved in Earth Day in San Diego? On Saturday, April 22, register to volunteer (www.creektobay.org) with I Love A Clean San Diego’s Creek to Bay Cleanup. Last year, 6,400 volunteers worked at 110 cleanup sites around the County and removed 150,000 lbs. of litter.
Locally, People for a Clean UC will celebrate Earth Day a couple of weeks early. On Sunday, April 9, we will conduct our monthly litter cleanup. In 2016, we conducted 12 monthly cleanups, attracted hundreds of volunteers of all ages, and removed hundreds of pounds of litter and debris from major streets and avenues in UC.
When I think of Earth Day, I recall astronomer and author Carl Sagan who said, “The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
People for a Clean UC will conduct its monthly cleanup this Sunday, April 9. We meet and greet at Starbucks, 3202 Governor Dr., from 7:15-7:30 a.m., and conduct the cleanup from 7:30-9:00. Please come and bring a friend or neighbor. All supplies are provided.
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