How one idea became a global event
THE IDEA FOR THE FIRST EARTH DAY
"Senator Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. Then in January 1969, he and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they choose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation. (https://www.earthday.org/history/) "
Today all over the world, people celebrate Earth Day, April 22.
I like to recognize the horses that roam on mother earth. North America is where the wild horse originated. According to folktales, mother earth created the horse from her soul. How can we believe that the horse is an enemy to the land? Knowing the horse originated in North America over 10,000 years ago, the first people told stories that the horse was born from the Earth.
Today we struggle with humans' continued attack on the wild horses; we fight off misinformation, lies, and greed.
In our work to keep the wild horse's roaming on Mother Earth, This must be recognized when we see people breaking laws and forcing their agenda on the planet and the animals. There is no Planet B.
Activist voices and ideas can manifest in a global celebration.
Happy Earth Day!
Debi Wilcox
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