The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970 and was founded by Sen. Gaylord Nelson. Here's a little something written by the man himself on how it all started: http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html. The day consisted of a national grassroots movement that brought public awareness of environmental issues and concerns.
There were several speakers at the university's event, and people sporadically laid out on the Cannon Greens. It was surprisingly a beautiful day to be outside, despite being warned of rain from the forecast earlier that morning. Having done a bit of research on the first Earth Day, it seemed awfully quiet in comparison to what I initially expected (not that I wanted to experience a riot or a protest).
Most of what was said was a whole lot of mumbo-jumbo in my opinion. There was nothing that really spoke to me about how any of this concerned or related to the Earth and its environment. Ramblings about art and philosophy? And a dude dressed as Gandalf from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings? It didn't make any sense to me, so I decided to look around at what the vendors at this farmer's market had to offer instead.
Most of the vendors looked familiar to me. Oh, right! A majority of them sell their stuff at Palafox Market during the weekends, too. It was neat browsing at all the locally produced goods, and I definitely seized the opportunity to help out these local businesses. Shopping around was fun, but I still felt something missing. Where was the connection to Earth? Where's all the activism that used to be prevalent in the 1970s? I see hippies, but no cause for making a difference.
I stopped by a booth selling fresh eggs and flowers (the most amazing sunflowers I've ever seen, so big and bright). The owner was Mary Bartlett. She owns Bartlett Meadows Farms in Pace. I talked to her a bit about this assignment, and she gave me a lot of insight on the differences in modern activism compared to how it was then.
We discussed the whole "occupy" movement. She said that it's really a shame that people don't take the time to be more informed and how Earth Day is more of a party now than anything.
"Like the whole "occupy" thing, people just don't take the time to do their own research and put more money towards what they believe in anymore," Bartlett said. "They should have it ingrained in their minds that in order to make a difference, you have to know exactly what you're doing and what you're getting into."
She told me more about how the government regulates organic products and what she values about her business and other local businesses.
I was satisfied with that small talk. It was brief, but Bartlett brought something to my attention. Although we perceive a majority of society to be naive and gullible about environmental concerns, there still are people out there who take time and do whatever they can to provide us with information and the stuff to spark conversation about the important things.
With that said, I think there's still hope. The event at UWF was extremely mild in my opinion. It left out a huge chunk that could have been said to the bystanders and observers. No, I don't think Earth Day, nationally, is swaying from its main focus and ignoring the issues. Our voices just aren't loud enough, but someday, I hope we get there.
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