During her confirmation hearings in 2021, Interior Department secretary Deb Haaland promised “to responsibly manage our natural resources to protect them for future generations—so that we can continue to work, live, hunt, fish, and pray among them.” Noting her Indigenous heritage, Haaland tweeted, “A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior…. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.”
Whether we see the beauty or not, the whole of nature, the whole of existence, is interconnected. Each of us lives in relation to every other. This is not mystic mutterings, but the actuality if we look. And this is a sound basis for a politics of inclusion and hope. thank you
Now at 85, having retired 3 years ago after nearly 60 years working to preserve the health of our oceans, I am delighted to read this profound summary of our nation's progress in doing so as well. Earth Day has always been a most special day for me - worked on Santa Barbara spill cleanup in 1969.
I’m early and you are early posting!! Thank you for a great summary of Earth Day. We need to remember why we celebrate and preserve the natural world for our children, or as the Native American might say in planning for seven generations into the future!
Earth Day April 22, 1970. 13 days later, on May 4, 1970 the shootings at Kent State. Depressing events in real time. I was 19 and you could feel the generational divide become a chasm.
Thank you for this refresher letter about the origin of Earth Day! I had forgotten the history behind Earth Day, especially Nixon’s role. I will honor Earth Day tomorrow by planting a few seeds in my backyard. For the past two years, my husband and I have done away with using disposable plates, cups, and plastic spoons/forks in order to protect our earth. And we now use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. I will thank our earth for her beautiful lands, waters, rocks, and everything else she provides!
It's about time that Climate change, Earth Day, EPA, etc get back into the headlines and the onslaught of tfg news disappears, together with him, from the front pages.
Thank you so much, Heather! And Happy Earth Day to all the life forms here on Earth! 🎉🎉🎉🌎🌍🌏 And in honor of our Native American Interior Secretary, here’s Oren Lyons speaking on Native Americans’ relationship to Mother Earth. He’s in his 90s now, but this is from 2011. I first heard him about 30 years ago at a sustainability conference organized by John Denver. So much wisdom in the many videos of him on YouTube 🙏🏻😊
Deb Haaland is looking at quite a few places in Northern California to designate as protected lands for animal species and the preservation of our waters. This is necessary for our environment to sustain the weather patterns we are experiencing and will, in the future. It is exciting to have a very capable Native American woman at the helm of these projects. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-announces-95-million-through-presidents-investing-america-agenda
Thank you Professor for the reminder of our role in protecting our environment. “Public outrage ran so high that President Nixon went to Santa Barbara in March to see the cleanup efforts, telling the American public that “the Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.” I was a preteen in Santa Barbara in the 1950s and sixties and loved the ocean and beaches. However while the air seemed clean, there were areas of oil on the beaches. Even swimming out on rafts we found ourselves dribbled with oil. In my poem, “Cleaning Feet with Gasoline” I describe how there was more than one spill, and how my father helped us clean up after a swim. “On weekend excursions this burly-chested Neptune rose out of the ocean, shaking off the salty brine. We children lined up to wait our turns, as he gently removed tar from our feet with gasoline.” Since those years, the California coast and beaches have been cleaned up and are pristine. And the air pollution dramatically reduced. There are laws and restrictions on land use and protection, also making the value and cost of property high. We cannot rely on private companies and entities to protect the land. Laws and regulations work for all of us. We rely on our government to create and enforce laws that protect people and property. Earth Day is every day.
Fine essay, as always, Ma'am. ¡Hooray, President Biden! There will always be push-back. Full speed ahead. I remember that first Earth Day fifty-four years ago. My sixth grade class skipped Art as the Art teacher instructed us to go to the local business intersection to pick up litter. ✌️
Nine years later, I read 'Silent Spring' for an Environmental Econ. class. As l had been the product of a pro-business conservative family, fellow Pittsburgher Ms Carson's work 'shocked, chagrinned, and appalled me", as an informal banking mentor used to say. 😯
Rarely does such a compelling reaction repeat itself in later life. But this one did when I read 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers in 2023. As a novel with quirky characters rather than straight science, 'The Overstory' is not many people's cup-of-joe. ¿For me? ¡My cup runneth over! 🙂
This could not be more critical and so clearly expressed. I would also recommend the Encyclical letter “Laudato Si - on care of our common home “ from Pope Francis. Of course there is a Catholic perspective but it also clearly articulates how nature must be accorded the equal agency as man/womankind. There is so much more but it demonstrates that although Trump seems to dominate the media, this is more important. We are in a time like no other with both political and environmental instability. Thank you Heather!
Whether we see the beauty or not, the whole of nature, the whole of existence, is interconnected. Each of us lives in relation to every other. This is not mystic mutterings, but the actuality if we look. And this is a sound basis for a politics of inclusion and hope. thank you
Alan A. Allen, Retired
Now at 85, having retired 3 years ago after nearly 60 years working to preserve the health of our oceans, I am delighted to read this profound summary of our nation's progress in doing so as well. Earth Day has always been a most special day for me - worked on Santa Barbara spill cleanup in 1969.
I’m early and you are early posting!! Thank you for a great summary of Earth Day. We need to remember why we celebrate and preserve the natural world for our children, or as the Native American might say in planning for seven generations into the future!
Earth Day April 22, 1970. 13 days later, on May 4, 1970 the shootings at Kent State. Depressing events in real time. I was 19 and you could feel the generational divide become a chasm.
Thank you for this refresher letter about the origin of Earth Day! I had forgotten the history behind Earth Day, especially Nixon’s role. I will honor Earth Day tomorrow by planting a few seeds in my backyard. For the past two years, my husband and I have done away with using disposable plates, cups, and plastic spoons/forks in order to protect our earth. And we now use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. I will thank our earth for her beautiful lands, waters, rocks, and everything else she provides!
It's about time that Climate change, Earth Day, EPA, etc get back into the headlines and the onslaught of tfg news disappears, together with him, from the front pages.
Thank you so much, Heather! And Happy Earth Day to all the life forms here on Earth! 🎉🎉🎉🌎🌍🌏 And in honor of our Native American Interior Secretary, here’s Oren Lyons speaking on Native Americans’ relationship to Mother Earth. He’s in his 90s now, but this is from 2011. I first heard him about 30 years ago at a sustainability conference organized by John Denver. So much wisdom in the many videos of him on YouTube 🙏🏻😊
https://youtu.be/Xqob5eg8KK8?si=2NedpnkLgnQGKS5P
Planted three patches of milkweed for the monarch butterflies ...
My garden is all about keeping them and the bees happy.
Everyday is Earth Day! I pulled weeds today.
We ought to try to become better stewards of Planet Earth. The Webb telescope has yet to find intelligent life elsewhere in the solar system.
We averaged 3.3 severe weather events annually during the 1980s… storms that each caused at least $1 billion in damages.
Last year, we had 28 such storms (inflation adjusted)
Deb Haaland is looking at quite a few places in Northern California to designate as protected lands for animal species and the preservation of our waters. This is necessary for our environment to sustain the weather patterns we are experiencing and will, in the future. It is exciting to have a very capable Native American woman at the helm of these projects. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-haaland-announces-95-million-through-presidents-investing-america-agenda
Thank you Professor for the reminder of our role in protecting our environment. “Public outrage ran so high that President Nixon went to Santa Barbara in March to see the cleanup efforts, telling the American public that “the Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.” I was a preteen in Santa Barbara in the 1950s and sixties and loved the ocean and beaches. However while the air seemed clean, there were areas of oil on the beaches. Even swimming out on rafts we found ourselves dribbled with oil. In my poem, “Cleaning Feet with Gasoline” I describe how there was more than one spill, and how my father helped us clean up after a swim. “On weekend excursions this burly-chested Neptune rose out of the ocean, shaking off the salty brine. We children lined up to wait our turns, as he gently removed tar from our feet with gasoline.” Since those years, the California coast and beaches have been cleaned up and are pristine. And the air pollution dramatically reduced. There are laws and restrictions on land use and protection, also making the value and cost of property high. We cannot rely on private companies and entities to protect the land. Laws and regulations work for all of us. We rely on our government to create and enforce laws that protect people and property. Earth Day is every day.
The quote from Rachel Carson reflects the clarity of genius. She was a courageous long wolf.
Fine essay, as always, Ma'am. ¡Hooray, President Biden! There will always be push-back. Full speed ahead. I remember that first Earth Day fifty-four years ago. My sixth grade class skipped Art as the Art teacher instructed us to go to the local business intersection to pick up litter. ✌️
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/first-earth-day-history-legacy
Nine years later, I read 'Silent Spring' for an Environmental Econ. class. As l had been the product of a pro-business conservative family, fellow Pittsburgher Ms Carson's work 'shocked, chagrinned, and appalled me", as an informal banking mentor used to say. 😯
https://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/
Rarely does such a compelling reaction repeat itself in later life. But this one did when I read 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers in 2023. As a novel with quirky characters rather than straight science, 'The Overstory' is not many people's cup-of-joe. ¿For me? ¡My cup runneth over! 🙂
Thank you, again, for the history lesson that puts today’s events into realistic, understandable context.
This could not be more critical and so clearly expressed. I would also recommend the Encyclical letter “Laudato Si - on care of our common home “ from Pope Francis. Of course there is a Catholic perspective but it also clearly articulates how nature must be accorded the equal agency as man/womankind. There is so much more but it demonstrates that although Trump seems to dominate the media, this is more important. We are in a time like no other with both political and environmental instability. Thank you Heather!