April 22, 2023: the 53rd Earth Day

courtesy of Adobe Stock

I went to the first Earth Day in New York City with my mother. We rode the train in early. 5th Ave. was closed to vehicles and about 1 million people walked up and down it all day, participating in singing and chanting, listening to speakers like Barry Commoner and the mayor John Lindsay, eating street food, and having a grand old time. 10% of all Americans did something to celebrate the day. Nearly 1 billion people participated worldwide. It felt like anything was possible and we were going to clean up the world in no time! Richard Nixon, horrified by the Ohio River catching fire from toxic waste, created the Environmental Protection Agency later that year, partly in response to his own horror, partly in response to the visual power of that first Earth Day.

Union Square. We were there, and I remember all the people sweeping the street and singing. (courtesy of New York Police Department photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives.)

Here’s the link to the NYC Archives about the day. P.S. It was a lot more colorful!!

https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2023/4/21/new-yorks-first-earth-day#:~:text=On%20April%2022%2C%201970%2C%20nearly,between%20Second%20and%20Seventh%20Avenues.

Here’s another link with Walter Cronkite’s coverage on the day:

Me, I want to recapture the optimism and joy that pervaded that day. I want to be a Decarb Bro and believe we can solve our climate problems with technology. I’m not really there, but I keep trying!

Enjoy the day. Do something special to celebrate this wonderful planet.

The Mazatzal Wilderness
Blue Lake, South San Juans Wilderness, Conejos River Watershed, Sept. 2022

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