Earth Day by Kate Emery General

Earth Day

“Good evening, a unique day in history is ending. A day set aside for a nationwide outpouring of mankind seeking its own survival.” Those were the words of Newscaster Walter Cronkite as he described the aftermath of the first Earth Day in 1970.

The protests brought together people from all walks of American life, accounting for ten percent of the U.S. population, to demonstrate and voice their demands for sustainable change. Amid the demonstrations, protesters brought New York City’s usually bustling Fifth Avenue to a halt. The environmental impact of the post-war consumer boom was beginning to be felt at that time. Oil spills, factory pollution, and other ecological threats were on the rise, with little, if any, legislation in place to prevent them.

In July of 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was established by special executive order to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation. Earth Day also led to the passage of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. President Jimmy Carter signed bills during his years in office banning DDT and lead in gasoline.

April 22, 2020, was the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. The theme was Climate Action. Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, most of the three-day celebratory activities were held online. In many places, staying at home at that time, resulted in cleaner air for the short term. The climate crisis and sustainability are not new concepts, but it feels as if we’re only taking baby steps toward solutions and change. Could it be that Earth Day has been around for so long that we’ve lost the spark for environmental action?

The theme for Earth Day 2024 is Planet vs Plastics. Earthday.org has called for a 60% global reduction in plastic production by 2040.

World War II necessitated a great expansion of the plastics industry in the United States as the need to preserve scarce resources made the production of synthetic alternatives a priority. Plastics provided those substitutes. Plastics production during World War II increased by 300%.

According to author Susan Freinkel, “In product after product, plastics challenged traditional materials and won, taking the place of steel in cars, paper and glass in packaging, and wood in furniture. The possibilities of plastics gave some observers an almost utopian vision of a future with abundant material wealth thanks to an inexpensive, safe, sanitary substance that could be shaped by humans to their every whim.

Through the 1960s and into the 1970s plastics became more and more a part of everyday life. Thanks to injection molding and thermoforming, goods could be produced quickly and affordably, making items that used to be a luxury more accessible to people around the world and from all walks of life.

Plastic debris in the oceans was first observed in the 1960s, a decade in which Americans became increasingly aware of environmental problems. Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring exposed the dangers of chemical pesticides. In 1969, a major oil spill occurred off the California coast, and the polluted Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire, raising concerns about pollution. As awareness of environmental issues spread, the persistence of plastic waste began to trouble scientists.

Plastics became a special target in the 1970s and 1980s as anxiety about waste increased. Plastic is disposable but lasts forever in the environment. It was the plastics industry that offered recycling as a solution, encouraging municipalities to collect and process recyclable materials as part of their waste management systems. However, recycling is far from perfect, and according to the Science History Institute, most plastics still end up in landfills and the environment.

CBS Sunday Morning had a disturbing opinion about recycling in their story about a study called “The Fraud of Plastics Recycling.” According to the story, experts have said that 48 million tons of plastic waste is generated every year in the United States, but only five to six percent of it is actually recycled. This story accuses the plastics industry of a decades-long campaign to “mislead “ the public about the viability of recycling. The story goes on to state that the plastics industry will say pretty much whatever it needs to in order to placate American consumers.

CBS experts say that each year at least eight million tons of plastics enter the ocean-the equivalent of one garbage truckload every minute. By 2050, there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the ocean.

The United Nations Environment Program suggests steering clear of purchasing plastic gloves, making sure that our toiletries are plastic-free, choosing food without plastic packaging, and rolling our sleeves up and organizing a clean-up. There is hope if we all do our part.

Kate Emery General is a retired chef/restaurant owner who was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. Kate loves her grandchildren, knitting, and watercolor painting. Kate and her husband, Matt are longtime residents of Cambridge’s West End where they enjoy swimming and bicycling.