*[Enwl-eng] What was *remarkable* about that first Earth Day

[ENWL]

+ new video coming soon   
                                
                       
                                
                                
                                More than 50 years ago, a massive oil spill sent as much as 100,000 barrels of oil into the water and onto the beaches of southern California. It was the largest spill of its kind, ever. 

                                Gaylord Nelson, then Wisconsin’s junior U.S. Senator, sensed a tipping point in a country increasingly alarmed by the dismal state of its environment. So he joined with Congressman Pete McCloskey, a California Republican, to sponsor a series of teach-ins that grew into a movement building juggernaut. 

                                Probably the most exciting thing about that first Earth Day is that it brought groups that had been fighting individually against a range of environmental challenges - from oil spills to polluting factories to wildlife extinction and more - together around a set of shared values. 

                                And it worked – within five years, the growing movement had helped to create the US Environmental Protection Agency and pass first of their kind laws, like the Clean Air and Water Acts, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Endangered Species Act. And by 1990, Earth Day had gone global, with millions of people around the world mobilizing.

                                What I find most remarkable about that – particularly in light of today’s political and social fractures – is that folks understood they were up against something bigger than any one individual or organization or legislator or business leader could take on alone. 

                                That’s why it's fitting that this Earth Day we’ll be joining hands with allies around the world to demand a strong international treaty that finally tackles plastic pollution. 

                                The good news is, a United Nations treaty is already in the works. But the devil is in the details. We need a treaty that reduces plastic production dramatically and rejects the false solutions that the petrochemical giants are promoting to distract and delay – things like chemical recycling, plastic offsets and more cleanups. 

                                To do that, we need to ensure that those most impacted by the problem – whether they live next to an ethane cracker in Pennsylvania or work as a waste picker in the Philippines – have a seat at the decision making table. 

                                In the coming days, we’ll be sharing a short video that introduces some of the ins and outs of the negotiations currently underway: which countries are helping, which are not and what you can do to ensure we get the strongest treaty we can. 

                                We’ll also be asking you to contact your national leaders, wherever you live, to ensure they are on board with the most ambitious terms possible in the runup to the next negotiations in May. 

                                I won’t lie – this is going to be a heavy lift. Just as Big Oil didn’t lie down in the wake of that first Earth Day, the petrochemical giants won’t go quietly. In fact, major polluters like Exxon are actively lobbying for a weaker treaty. 

                                But I know this Community is ready to rally, alongside friends from around the globe, just as you’ve done every time we’ve asked. 

                                So keep an eye out for our new video and petition, and get ready to share them far and wide.

                                No matter how you’re tackling the plastics problem, we need you. 
                                Michael O’Heaney
                                Executive Director

                                  
                                  
                                 
                                 
                                 
                                 
                             
                                
                                 
                                  
                                  
                                 
                                  
                                 
                                  
                                 
                                 
                                   
                                  
                                 
                                  
                                 
                                  
                                 
                                 
                                 
                                 
                             
                                
                                  
                                  
                                        
                                 
                                  
                             
                                
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                  From: The Story of Stuff Project 
                  Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2023 10:40 AM
                  Subject: What was *remarkable* about that first Earth Day

                 
           

                                                                  
        
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