April 6, 2011
Earth Day: Is it still effective?
These days, there are many different views and ideas that circulate in regards to Earth Day. When Earth Day was created in 1970, it was meant to make the public conscious of environmental issues such as water and air pollution as well as force the idea of protecting the environment onto the agenda of politicians. As a result, many environmental acts were passed and the Environmental Protection Agency was established. After 1970, Earth Day became an annual occurrence and many people and organizations took steps towards being environmentally sound. While many people first supported Earth Day and found it effective and still do, a lot of opinions have also since changed. Today, there are many arguments against the holiday and its level of effectiveness and many people that believe Earth Day has overstayed its welcome and is no longer necessary. For example, the Bright Green Environmental Earth group says “Thank you Earth Day, but you can stop now.” They believe that Earth Day has accomplished its mission of pushing the environment to the top of the global agenda, but that awareness is no longer enough.
The way I see it, Earth Day may have accomplished its primary mission, but that doesn’t mean it should no longer be a part of our society. It still does just what it was originally meant to do; create awareness, and awareness is always the first step in making a change. Earth Day gives people a reason to talk about and address the environmental issues that plague our planet. I also believe that Earth Day is one of the basis’ of environmental education in many places, especially with younger children because it is much easier to explain the concept of a day devoted to our environment than a formal act or policy. Without it, some people may never hear about these issues, leading them to never take any action. If no action is ever taken then it may become difficult to solve some of the problems our environment faces.
Yes, I agree that Earth Day will not solve all of our environmental problems, but it is definitely a start. By getting the information out to the public and giving them opportunities to participate in “green” activities and actions favorable for the Earth, we are starting the process of making a difference. However, I also agree that once the information is out there, it is up to us to actually start taking action. It’s good and all to start talking about the issues, but if that’s all we ever do, we’ll never make a difference. Yet it is not fair to completely discredit the day, because while most of it is just talk, the first ever Earth Day did make a huge difference for us. Without it, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Water Acts may have never been created. If we translate our words into actions, we too can make a difference in the present and future environment.
Sources:
“Earth Day: The History of A Movement.” Earth Day Network. Earth Day Network. 5 April 2011.
“Criticism of Earth Day and Bright Green Environmental Group.” Culture & Society: Nature. 21 April 2009. Bukisa. 5 April 2011.
2 comments:
I agree with these comments. So often people forget how important our environment is. In fact, we would be completely lost without the environment as it supplies us with all of our needs. That is why Earth Day is a great yearly reminder of how grateful we should be to the environment and of how we need to take care of it. Not everybody knows about the importance of the environment; they may not even know where their food comes from before it gets to the store. Earth Day is a great time to spark curiosity and get those who are uninformed to start asking questions.
This was a very interesting post. Although I do feel that earth day is only really celebrated by people who are already “environmentally conscious.” One positive thing that has come out of earth day is many elementary classes make this as an excuse to go outside and plant trees, or clean up the environment. These experiences can be beneficial in helping to keep these young kids thinking about the environment.
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