Today, April 22, 2019 is he 49th Earth Day. The first Earth Day in 1970 came about after Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, saw the aftermaths of the 1069 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. His idea was to “national teach-in on the environment”. The date April 22nd was selected since it was a date between College Spring Break and Exams.
Now nearly 50 years later we are still seeing how we have hurt the earth. While I am a believer that the climate has changed, all one has to do is look at weather patterns that are so much different than it was when I was you. Fifty years ago I was 10 and I remember many cold winters in the 60’s and early 70’s with plenty of large snowstorms on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where I live. Many weird weather patterns in all seasons. And sights that I regularly that were seldom seen as recent as 20 years ago.
This past Saturday Chestertown, my hometown, held their annual Earth Day Celebration. While it was happening I decided to stroll down to the Chester River, just a couple of blocks away. It was a few hours after High Tide and this is what I saw at the dock at the foot of High Street.
This has become a common sight. And as I mentioned well past high tide and you can just imagine how high the water may have been by debris on the road.
Even with seeing this and admitting that there is a change in the climate, I am not convinced that what we are doing to the Earth today is all to blame. I’m sure others will greatly disagree. It is my feeling that what we are seeing today that we are still seeing the aftereffects of the Industrial Revolution and into the first half of the 20th Century. It takes time for the Earth to react and what we are doing today is making strides, strides that began in the 1960’s, to protect our home for our children and their children.
Let’s continue what we are doing and encourage more to do the same.
Note:
More Photos from Chestertown’s Earth Day, from my trip to the River and other activities in Chestertown on April 20, 2019 can me seen on my ShoreToBeFun Photographs page on Facebook