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Earth Day - What’s it all about?
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In 1962, President Kennedy was persuaded by Senator Gaylord
Nelson, to go on a conservation tour to put the environment
into the “political limelight.” Although the tour did not go
well, it was this idea that eventually came to be Earth Day.
Six years later, also spawned from the anti-Nam protests,
the idea of protesting what was happening to the environment
was then conceived. In 1970, the first official observance
was held nationwide with a grassroots participation of an
estimated 20 million organized at local levels. It is said
that the remarkable thing was that it organized itself.
Today, 37 years
later, Earth Day is more highly celebrated by
those in the new age, grassroots, or
environmental realm. It does not seem that its
political importance reached Nelson’s original
ideal, although according |
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Otero Mesa,
New Mexico’s
Serengeti, Site of Earth Day Outing April 20-22
photos courtesy New Mexico Tourism Department |
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to a book on Gaylord
Nelson by former journalist Bill Christofferson, it is now
estimated that it is celebrated by some 500 million people
in 167 countries.
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One area of the United States where this annual observance
is more highly celebrated is in the southwest. Conservation
is a household word out here, whether its agenda is agreed
upon or not. Debates, projects and fund-raisers continue
round the year with regard to our lands, our resources, our
wildlife and the preservation of each.
An example of
such an event in the southwest is the New Mexico
Wilderness Alliance’s Otero Rally to save Otero
Mesa in New Mexico. There will be an outing in
the desert April 20 - 22, with photography, |
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photos courtesy New Mexico Tourism Department |
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wildlife, desert
spring blooms and beautiful sunrises. An hour's
drive northeast of El Paso, centered about 90
minutes between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, Otero
Mesa extends from the Hueco Mountains to
the Guadalupe Mountains and from the Texas border into New
Mexico. Visitors will explore the area while continuing
efforts to preserve the last stretch of Chihuahuan Desert
Grasslands. The evening will wind down with a campfire and
music. The State of New Mexico and Governor Bill Richardson
have been working with a coalition of ranchers, hunters,
conservationists and others to prevent a Bureau of Land
Management plan that will open almost 90 percent of this
fragile area to oil and gas development. For more info visit
www.oteromesa.org
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photos courtesy New Mexico Tourism Department |
New Mexico State University’s Environmental Science Student
Organization will host an Earth Day celebration from noon to
10 p.m. Thursday, April 22, at the Corbett Center Outdoor
Stage.
Twenty-three conservationist organizations, including the
Sierra Club, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, the World
Wildlife Fund and the NMSU student organization, Save Our
Environment, will have informational booths for
visitors. Local rock and blues bands One Pint
Short, Electric Campfire and The Blues Band will
also perform during the Earth Day celebration.
For |
| more information, contact Josh Holguin at
(505) 650-1665. |
The University of Arizona has an Earth Day Service Trip to
the Saguaro National Park on April 22, to participate in
trail building and clean-up. Saguaro National Park East lies
between the Rincon Mountains and the city of Tucson and is
home to large stands of saguaro cacti, a columnar cactus
unique to the Sonoran Desert. For more info go to http://CampusRec.arizona.edu
A little further north in Colorado, the Second Annual Pikes
Peak Earth Day will be celebrated 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
Saturday, April 21, 2007 at Palmer High School, 301 North
Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs. Earth Day activities
which will feature live entertainment, earth-friendly
exhibits, recycled art, games, crafts, a science fair along
with stimulating and thought-provoking booths, interactive
displays and presentations---all intended to boost
earth-friendly awareness and behaviors for people of all
ages. For more information visit www.pikespeakearthday.org.
Other activities:
In
Santa Fe,
Thursday,
April 19 ,
at 7pm the
2nd ANNUAL OPEN MIC FOR EARTH DAY as a part of the Southwest
Literary Center/Writers Reading Series Spring 2007.
Come and bring your "earthy" poetry and prose and share it
in honor of Earth Day. Dirt farming, tree hugging, and
mountain gazing writing all count but aren't necessary. Read
your work or the work of others (maybe Wendell Berry, N.
Scott Momaday or Mary Oliver?) Five minute maximum reading
time. Sign up on the night. (505) 982-9301
Albuquerque
Albuquerque Biological Park
Earth Day - Party for the Planet & KNME Science Cafe.
Saturday, April 21
This year, the BioPark is celebrating Earth Day in a BIG way
and partnering with more than 100 AZA Zoos and Aquariums
nationwide on Party for the Planet events! Visitors of all
ages can learn about taking care of Planet Earth at all the
BioPark's facilities--aquarium, botanic garden, zoo and
Tingley Beach. This BioPark-wide event will highlight the
ways that you can lessen your impact on the Earth and
protect wildlife and their habitats. At the Zoo, children
can visit the Radio Disney booths to play games inspired by
the Earth and visit Discovery Stations to learn how to
protect endangered species from around the workd. Stop by
the Earth Day tables to find out how you can reduce your
greenhouse gas emission through easy, simple actions.
903 Tenth Street SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Phone: (505)
764-6200
Whatever you do, whether it's
getting out to a planned event or just tending the precious
Earth in your own backyard, Celebrate Earth Day and help to
protect this beautiful planet that we call home.
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