Saturday, April 22 marks Earth Day which is a national day to focus on the environment, climate change, and sustainability.
I’m proud to say that I hail from the state where this was founded – Wisconsin.
Gaylord Nelson, formerly a U.S.
Earth Day in 1970 achieved a rare political achievement, gaining support from Democrats and Republicans as well as people from all walks of life.
The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts to preserve our environment in a massive way.
Forty seven years ago, partisanship was put aside with the understanding that our environment was a precious resource for all people, not just something to be exploited for financial gain.
Earth Day has become a global event, mobilizing people in numerous countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage giving a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide.
Green technologies are not only good for the environment, they lead to high tech, better paying jobs.
Climate change deniers, fossil fuel lobbyists, and reticent politicians are all fighting environmental consciousness and denying the scientific evidence that humans are changing our environment and that our climate is warming.
Locally there are numerous events: one major one is the March for Science which will take place at the University of Maine.

Earth Day Volunteers Needed in Somerville for Peters Brook Project April 22.
SOMERVILLE, NJ – The Borough will commemorate Earth Day April 22 with a stream bank clean-up and native species planting along the banks of the Peters Brook between East High Street and East Cliff Street.
Work begins at 10 a.m. and will end at noon.
Volunteers are advised to wear work clothes and bring gloves, boots and all-weather outwear.
The local event is a joint project of the Somerville Environmental Commission, the Boy Scouts of America and the New Jersey Water Supply Authority.
The Peters Brook runs through the center of the borough providing a natural green seam that connects Somerville’s neighborhoods.
The confluence of the Peters Brook with the Raritan River is about three miles upstream of the New Jersey American Water Company intake that provides treatment and distribution of more than 124 million gallons of water daily to New Jersey residents.
The source water for water purveyors including NJ American Water is susceptible to impairment from bacteria such as fecal coliform and E. coli and other pathogens, pH fluctuations, excessive nutrients that cause algae blooms and high amounts of sediment.
Sediment bars and erosion are evident along much of the Peters Brook.
Volunteers will clean debris from the waterway and the banks alongside the brook, and will do some plantings to help strengthen the banks and prevent erosion.