Earth Day and environmentalism, then and now: How times have changed | Opinion
Much, including dreams, has changed since Earth Day’s 1970 birth, which came amidst growing environmental awareness and concern.
Incidents of air pollution (smog-filled cities like Los Angeles) and water pollution (Lake Erie’s Cuyahoga River on fire) caught our attention.
Earth Day, the Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and anti-litter laws, all between 1963 and 1973, came in response during an “environmental movement”.
The post-World War II US economy rapidly expanded with increased consumption and commercialization. Two increasingly prevalent “goods” were automobiles and televisions. With increased driving of automobiles, smog became more common. Pictures shown via television to those far removed revealed what otherwise was out of sight and therefore out of mind.
With increased consumption came increased accumulation of waste products, including litter thrown out car windows and visible to passersby. With increasingly adverse environmental impacts, public exposure and responsiveness grew.
The environmental movement came amidst a larger cultural movement questioning the status quo. This included the “hippie” movement, many of whom were environmentalists (Earth Day 1970 came soon after Woodstock).
A growing industrial commercialized economy promoting increased consumption was considered part of the problem, not part of the solution. “Smaller and simpler”, anti-materialism, and “living in harmony with nature” were core principles of many advocating a significant paradigm shift in environmental valuation and concepts of what “really” matters. Earth Day emphasized saving Planet Earth.
The 1973 oil embargo caused economic uncertainty overshadowing environmental concern. Environmental problems became old news. Economic stability and growth were heavily promoted through the 1980’s and 1990’s; recall the 1992 election: “It’s the economy, stupid”.
By century’s end, many environmental organizations were appealing to a larger, more pragmatic, and less idealistic base. The economy was considered part of the solution.
Fast forward: global human population more than doubled between 1970 and 2020 and per-capita consumption increased, not what environmentalists had dreamt. The environmental movement’s expanded base now advocates a more sustainable growing economy, not a smaller economy as advocated earlier.
Environmentalism today is more mainstream and less radical than in 1970; eco-, unlike political-, terrorism was a greater concern before than since the turn of the century.
COVID-19 caused a partial economic shutdown, resulting in a cleaner, less polluted environment. Yet, the shutdown’s perceived economic costs outweighed its perceived environmental/health benefits. The mainstream preferred re-opening the economy and restoring normalcy. “It’s still the economy”.
Climate change is a rallying cry for many who otherwise might not be environmentally active. Many environmentalists dream of electric cars in every driveway, unlike in 1970 when they dreamed of no cars.
Fearing climate change, some propose escaping Earth and colonizing Mars advocating, ironically, changing Mars’ climate. Today it’s more about saving our civilization than our planet.
Dreams change with time.
In 1970, environmentalists dreamt of restoring past frontiers, reversing our course. Today, they dream of exploring future frontiers, maintaining our course.
Environmentalism has become more anthropocentric and less envirocentric. That significant paradigm shift seemed more likely a half century ago than today.
Stephen Martin, a native Floridian and retired Florida A&M University instructor, has written about and taught Environmental Ethics. He celebrated Earth Day 1970 in New York and subsequent Earth Days in Maine, Virginia, Oregon, Colorado, and Florida.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to email@example.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.