I stand with the students striking for Climate Protection.
April 22, 1970, I skipped high school to take part in the first Earth Day teach-in at the university in my home town. There were thousands of us on the lawn in front of the library, eager to learn and eager to act.
We weren’t the only ones.
In July that year, President Nixon filed the executive order that created the Environmental Protection Agency and laid the groundwork of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.
The Clean Air Act of 1963 was extended and expanded to set national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants. The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Act, the Environment Quality Improvement Act, the Clean Water Act were all signed that year.
Much more followed, to the benefit of the real economy and the health of the nation. Over the next few years, we saw dramatic turnarounds in air and water quality in disaster zones like Southern California and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania … meaning we could literally see the positive changes in the environment and see the positive impact on public health costs.
It was an important start.
Today, the evidence-based macro- and micro-ecological sciences are clearer than ever about what we need to do for ourselves, our children, our children’s children….
The striking students, unlike many of their parents and grandparents, are open to learning and action … they are, after all, students. They take seriously the ancient wisdom: "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example…"
I stand with the young, and with many in my own generation, determined not to let anyone look down on us because we’re old … but to be an example of openness to learning and action for the common good.
You may say I’m a dreamer; but I’m not the only one.
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