Earth Day 2020 - Look Back, see the Future…I hope.

Ever heard of Sigmund Ford, witness for the defense? Ever heard of the trial, “American People vs the Sedan.” The mock trial took place in Michigan, March 11^th, 1970 just before our first Earth Day. The charges against the automobile were, “Murder of the American Public, crossing state lines to pollute, inciting traffic jams, creating physical and psychological dependence, and discriminating against the poor.”

Just one month before the first Earth Day this mock trial was a turning point of world environmental consciousness. I remember those times. I graduated from high school in 1969 and was off to the Air Force Academy a month later. The Mississippi River I swam in at home as a kid was condemned as unfit for swimming. When my class of cadets went to March Air Force Base in Los Angeles, I never saw the sun because the smog was so thick. A week later I was still coughing. Unregulated chemical companies were coming out with more and more powerful pest, herb, and fungal “cides”. These engineered to kill agricultural treatments were not adequately vetted for toxicity or prudent application. Birds were dropping out of the sky. Our National Bird, the Bald Eagle was nearing extinction. Forests were dying from acid rain. Rivers were catching on fire and industry was spewing vast quantities of waste on the land and into our lakes. Today, we are all paying to have the hazardous waste-sites cleaned up.

In 1972 the Club of Rome announced we were heading off the cliff.

What happened?

Today uneducated cynics tell us environmental doomsayers were wrong all along because we haven’t died. Don’t listen to this nonsense. The doomsayers set in motion a world-wide grassroots movement. Inspired by music legends like Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Three Dog Night the young became energized to protect their future.

   

Here are a few lines from a Three Dog Night song, “Out in the Country” written in 1970:    

 “Before the breathin’ air is gone                                                    

Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime                     

Out where the rivers like to run,                                                            

I stand alone and take back somethin’ worth rememberin”

  

Citizens, in those days, read books on science and the environment like Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring.” Adults created opinions based of common scientific knowledge.

The politicians could not ignore the science when the people told them to wise-up and do something. We enjoy a beautiful country not by good luck or an act of God (unless you believe God empowers us with moral courage). It is because collectively we understood science and stood up.

The clean air and clean water act followed. The Environmental Protection Agency was signed into law in December of 1970 by executive order. The Clean Air and Water Acts passed in 1972.

At the 1970 Michigan University Show Trial the Sedan, a real vehicle, was condemned to the scrap heap via sledgehammer. As you know, the automobile has proliferated despite the verdict. But what you might not know is in 1973 the average mpg was 13.7.  This was the same MPG the Model T achieved in 1908. Little by little we have inched up our mileage rate to 25 mpg. In 1973 US vehicles emitted so much airborne lead the average preschooler had four times the toxic limit in their bodies than would have been tolerated today. They would have required immediate medical action. Regulations and technology and mileage standards today, even with exponentially more vehicles being driven, have dramatically reduced our exposure to harmful pollution. Thanks to our government, we are exposed to 73% less pollution because our cars are 99% cleaner.

Vehicle manufactures protested and lobbied against every lifesaving regulation telling us we could not afford the technology.  Contrary to industry warnings automobiles have flourished even as mileage and emission standards have been strengthened. It took a while to create the catalytic converter and the myriad of improvements we benefit from today but companies, when nudged by the government, showed us what US entrepreneurial talent can do.

However, after all this progress the current administration is eliminating many of these well thought out and applied advances.

What saved us from the doomsayer predictions? A myriad of technological advances, political action and economic reforms came shortly after and in response to their predictions.

What was the element of change the doomsayers did not foresee? They thought we had quit caring. Maybe we had. Maybe their bleak apocalyptic picture woke us up.  But we did wake up.

Earth day 2020 is Déjà vu harkening back to 1970 with new threats. Biodiversity loss, aquifer depletion, ocean acidification from carbon-based fuels, and the biggest, climate change are all documented real dangers. Yep, these are a handful. Progress moves in leaps. It is not steady and, if the 70s are an example, it is achievable even in the face of powerful vested interests.

Hopefully, we are at the lowest ebb of apathy, cynicism, and ignorance. Encouragingly, our children are bending the curve of progress up again.

Awareness and action are like paper and a match starting a fire in my woodstove. It starts slow when ignited, then we can feel and hear the crackle of knowledge, enthusiasm, and determination. It starts small, just a glow. Give it a little breath of air.  A twig cracks.  A flame flickers. We add a little more fuel. We feel a little heat. A little more wood.  The cold leaves us. We hear the roar.  I hear the roar.

Link to the past: Smithsonianmag.com/cartrial  (1970)

April Magazines covering Earth Day in detail:

All magazines can be ordered online but I included the customer service numbers to order by phone.

• Wired Magazine, $10 a year.  Call 8007694733 The April magazine had 21 climate articles.
• Smithsonian Magazine, $26 a year.  Call 8007662149    The April Magazine had three climate articles.
• National Geographic, $19 a year. Call 8006475463 The April Magazine is a flip magazine.       One side is titled “How we lost the planet” and has four climate articles. The other side is titled “How we saved the World” with 4 more.

If you order I would demand delivery of the April editions as a pre-condition. The April articles in these magazines are great.

Greyson Morrow