Earth Day students

The Ghosts of Earth Day

The spirits of Earth Days Past, Present and Future give us a perspective on environmental politics.

Suppose they gave an Earth Day and nobody came?


Wednesday's 50th Anniversary of Earth Day was an afterthought, a non-event in a world so preoccupied with surviving to 2021 that surviving to 2100 doesn't move the needle.

So let's shoehorn this annual event into a Dickensian model and look at the spirits of Earth Days' Past, Present and Future.

Earth Day's 1970 debut and its 20th Anniversary in 1990 were high marks, as I discussed in this space two weeks ago.

The Ghost of Earth Day Past

The 1990 event followed a string of environmental disasters in the 1980's.

They included the Bhopal, India, chemical disaster in 1984; the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl two years later; the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole; the first widely-reported concern about climate change in 1988; medical waste washing up on popular beaches in New Jersey; and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The airwaves were filled with messages of empathy from industry, many of them from some of the most notorious corporate polluters, assuring Mother Earth that they're on her side.

The term "greenwashing," credited to environmentalist Jay Westerveld, caught on as petrochemical companies publicly wrapped themselves in the green flag while quietly continuing to lobby against environmental regulation, and while planting the seeds for a durable cottage industry in climate denial.

Worldwide rallies drew millions and celebrities virtually climbed all over each other in support of a cause whose time has come.

But alas, just like Britney Spears or Justin Bieber, Earth Day peaked at age 20.

Earth Day 1990 at Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. (Credit: Paul-W/flickr)

The Ghost of Earth Day Present

This year, plans for more big crowds on the Day's silver anniversary ran directly into COVID-19.

It was as if Earth Day had entered the Witness Protection Program.

NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN all ran obligatory Earth Day items with an inevitable tie to COVID-19 by including video of bears, coyotes, and other critters moving in on deserted city streets.

All four networks ran the same video of goats wandering through a desolate Welsh town (Special shout-out to NBC, who struck a special blow for East Coast Urban Elite Media Bias by identifying the goats as "sheep.")

A scan of the program schedules for cable and broadcast TV shows for April 22 include a couple of environment-themed offerings on the National Geographic Channel, but that's about it.

The impact statement? Environmental advocacy's highest-profile event was a dud.

There were a few glimmers on the broadcast news front. NBC used the day to announce its special "Climate Team," with the venerable Al Roker promising "even more" climate coverage. A useful perspective on "even more" comes in the form of multiple media content surveys that show the climate crisis pulling less airtime than any Kardashian.

CNN is promoting a one-hour climate special scheduled to run at 10pm ET tonight. "Chief Climate Correspondent" Bill Weir has managed to find airtime even amid the single-minded coverage of the pandemic. Good for him.

The Ghost of Earth Day Future

Let's spitball a little bit about the 100th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2070, when I will be 113 years old.

A mega-event on the National Mall might have another threat by then. Projections by Climate Central suggest that a large part of the Mall could be underwater during severe storms. In a worst case scenario, collapse of land-based ice in Antarctica and Greenland could raise the seas by 12 feet, making the Mall a permanent lagoon.

Cleanup of the nuclear and chemical morass at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, which started in the 1990's, should just about be wrapped up in the best case scenario. A 2019 estimate, however, left the door open for cleanup well into the 22nd Century.

The plastic we've loaded into our oceans should still be there. And then some. Those oceans are 30 percent more acidic than they were at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Should that immense problem ever reverse itself, scientists say it will take a lot more than 50 years.

One major manmade problem that stands a good chance of resolving is the depletion of stratospheric ozone over the poles. A global treaty has limited use of ozone-destroying chemicals. NASA and other agencies expect the ozone layer to repair itself over the next century.

We stand a good chance, I hope, of retaining or even building on the heroic effort to protect wild lands from Yellowstone to the Serengeti. Recently, Marine Protected Areas have offered protection to vast, ecologically valuable ocean areas. Of course, marvels like the Outer Banks or the canals of Venice may not have any protection against rising seas.

Access to water could replace access to oil as a primary cause of conflict between nations. Wind and solar power stand ready to dominate—unless our "clean energy" is replaced by something cleaner.

The last of the hundreds of lifetime Federal judgeships appointed by President Trump should be ready to leave the bench.

Long-held myths may fall by the wayside: From Eastern nations, the absurd notion that powdered rhino horn or shark fin soup are key status symbols; from the West, the cynical manufacture of doubt about science.

By the 100th Earth Day, we can hope that humanity's environmental ethic becomes more central to how we live our lives.

Think of how we've changed over the last 50 years—in 1970, the U.S. still had legal DDT, leaded gasoline, and a functioning commercial whaling station (in Richmond, California).

If nothing else is certain, it's safe to say that it'll be interesting.

I can't wait to be 113 and find out.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist. His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Contact him at pdykstra@ehn.org or on Twitter at @Pdykstra.

Banner photo: Oceanway Middle School students on Earth Day 2010. (Credit: JAXPORT/flickr)

Collapsed house surrounded by rubble and wood debris.

U.S. to stop publicly tracking financial toll of billion-dollar climate disasters

The federal government will no longer collect or share data on the financial costs of extreme weather events, a move that scientists and lawmakers say will obscure the growing risks of climate change.

Rebecca Dzombak and Hiroko Tabuchi report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Disaster aid on a flatbed truck.

Congress proposes major reforms to FEMA in bid to counter Trump cuts

A bipartisan House effort seeks to restructure the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) into an independent agency and expand its powers amid President Trump’s push to shrink or eliminate it.

Thomas Frank reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
Aerial photo of wind turbines near field with clouds floating over them casting shadows below.

Trump administration budget shifts lead to layoffs at key federal renewable energy lab

More than 100 employees at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were laid off last week following new federal orders and funding changes under the Trump administration.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar battery with red and black connection cables.

Virginia governor blocks bipartisan solar and battery bills, citing cost to utility customers

Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed two bipartisan clean energy bills in Virginia that would have expanded small-scale solar and battery storage, despite support from utilities and environmental groups.

Charles Paullin reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow excavator on an excavated mountain during daytime with sun rising over the horizon.

Trump’s mining push undermines itself by gutting clean energy demand

The Trump administration is accelerating domestic mining projects while simultaneously undercutting the clean energy policies that would create a stable U.S. market for critical minerals like lithium and graphite.

Alexander C. Kaufman reports for The Atlantic.

Keep reading...Show less
A pile of plastic bottles for recycling.
Credit: Photo by tanvi sharma on Unsplash

Plastics industry misled public on decades-old recycling tech

The fossil fuel industry has aggressively promoted “advanced recycling” as a breakthrough solution to plastic pollution — even while knowing it rarely works.

Dharna Noor reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Seabed with rocks and rays of sunlight permeating the depths.

Trump’s order on deep-sea mining risks fragile ocean ecosystems and global cooperation

President Trump’s decision to fast-track deep-sea mining permits without international agreement has alarmed scientists and conservationists who warn of long-lasting environmental damage and geopolitical fallout.

Richard Schiffman reports for Yale Environment 360.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.