Earth Day was first held on April 22, 1970 – so this year is the 41^st anniversary of Earth Day.  Founded by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and an environmental activist, the first Earth Day was celebrated as a day of education about the environment.  Over 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day, and I was one of those 20 million.  It’s a day I’ve never forgotten, and I wondered if others who support green living recall their first Earth Day celebration at this time of year.  To find out, I sent out some emails and got the following results – some surprising, some amusing, all inspiring.

Every Day is Earth Day for MOMs' Scott Nash and Honest Tea's Seth Goldman

Nash and Goldman are two of the first people to respond not only ‘walk the walk’ but practically laid the roadbed in Bethesda when it comes to greener living and saving our planet.  Consequently, Earth Day itself is not a big day for either.  Scott Nash, Founder of MOMs, has made it possible for all of us to live and eat greener every day.  His true commitment and lack of patience for green washing on Earth Day are reflected in his inspiring words.

“I was only five years old when the first Earth Day happened, so I have no experience there.  I think that over the decades, Earth Day has been very effective in bringing awareness to masses of people regarding the environment.  However, it's never really been a big deal to me because as the cliche goes "Every day is Earth Day."  As a matter of fact, I don't even really enjoy the day much anymore.  I think that some companies use it more as a green washing/marketing opportunity, rather than as a day to sincerely think of ways to be more environmentally responsible.  MOM's doesn't really participate in it anymore because we're already doing all we can every day to protect and restore the environment, which is our mission/purpose statement.  And in the weeks/months leading up to Earth Day, we get dozens (if not 100+) of requests from other companies who want to co-market with us on that day.  By and large, we say "no" to maybe all but one or two.”

Seth Goldman, Founder and CEO of Honest Tea, had a humorous – and educational - take on Earth Day as well.

“Given that we observe both April Fool’s Day and Earth Day in April, I thought it was appropriate to forward Honest Tea’s first (last?) official Bethesda -based rap video.  You will spot many local elements, including my son Jonah.” 

Seth, great video and great location shots on Bethesda Avenue and the Capital Crescent Trail.  The other video on the site by Gary Hirshberg, CE-Yo of Stonyfield Yogurt, is worth watching as well, and both build a great case for shopping organic at MOMs or other area stores to make our planet greener every day.

Dave Feldman, Bethesda Green Recalls Earth Day 2010 in New Orleans
Dave Feldman, Executive Director at Bethesda Green, poignantly recalled Earth Day 2010 spent in New Orleans just days before the BP oil spill became the BP oil disaster:

“I can't recall my first Earth Day but last year's (2010) was most meaningful.  I was asked to speak at LSU in Baton Rouge at their Alternative Energy conference. Their focus is traditionally oil and gas, but one of the departments was pushing for speakers from sustainable communities and asked that I speak about Bethesda Green as a model for replication.  The BP explosion occurred the day of my presentation.  It was a big topic of discussion though no one had any idea of its severity.  Two days later, while in New Orleans at the Jazz Fest I heard the rig sank.  It went down on April 22, the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.”

Two Recollections From the First Earth Day in 1970
I was beginning to think that I was the only one I knew who’d taken part in the first Earth Day in 1970 when I received a response from Bill Franz, the husband of Cheryl Kollin, Founder of Full Plate Ventures and Program Manager at Bethesda Green.  Bill was a junior high school teacher in 1970, and used the day to educate his students:

“I was a second year science teacher at Western Junior High School (now Westland  Middle School) on Massachusetts  Avenue in 1970.  I asked my seventh graders if any of them would like to ride their bikes with signs on the first Earth Day, to show our support.   I and about 20 of my students rode up and down Massachusetts Avenue , near where the Capital Crescent Trail crosses Massachusetts Avenue, waving our signs at the commuters on their way to work.   We had many class discussions about ecology, a new word to most of us, back then.  I hope we are all still thinking about our impact on the environment.  The cartoon I had on my classroom bulletin board was the original comic of Pogo saying “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”  As I think of the serious problem of global warming, what was true then is still true today.”

My first Earth Day celebration?  I was in high school in northern New Jersey in 1970.  Area high schools had organized an ‘environmental teach-in’ at a local park, and we could go to the teach-in instead of school.  I did what any 15 year old would do and spent the day at the park, which had all the trappings of an anti-war teach-in.  There were a few hundred students and several speakers, including a local college student in a pea jacket, wire-rimmed glasses and long hair who used a word that was new to me as well – ‘ecology’.  A folk band sang ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ and some students went swimming in the park’s lake.  We sat around, talking and laughing, not listening very hard or talking about what we heard.  Despite not doing much except enjoying a day off from school there was a positive feeling in the air.  The environment was important – important enough for a day off from school – which alone told us more than any of the speeches that the health of our planet was important. 

It was a different time, but it was a start, and I’m glad to see how far we’ve come.  This April 22 I hope everyone takes a moment to think about our planet earth but also about the people in our midst who make Earth Day and every day greener for us all.  We appreciate your comments, and we appreciate your commitment!