Karen Lothrop (r) with Ron and Martha Strout |
It
all began with a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California that Nelson
took note of and then decided to raise awareness about environmental issues. With
the assistance of Rep. Pete McCloskey of California, as well as a Denis Hayes
from Harvard, events were organized across the nation with many college
students participating in various ways. The date, April 22, was chosen at the
time because it fell between spring break and final exams.
According
to the Earth Day Network, “Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment,
enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers
and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first
Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency and the passage of the Clean
Air, Clean
Water,
and Endangered
Species Acts.”
www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/
In
1990, Earth Day became a global passion with approximately 140 countries participating
in environmental awareness activities. Despite recent years of cynicism, Earth
Day celebrations remain in the spotlight with approximately 180 countries
participating as it approaches its 50-year anniversary in 2020.
For
some, celebrating Earth Day has become an everyday habit. This includes a few
individuals within the Windham and Raymond communities.
Gordon Street holds the sign he will use in Saturday's March for Science |
Although
Lothrop spends winters in Florida, where she picks up trash on her daily walks
there, she always returns to her home in Windham. While here at home, she
dedicates her morning walks to trash pickups from June until October.
Gordon
Street of Raymond has turned his passion, the art of scientific thinking, into
an Earth Day activity. Street will be participating in the “March for Science”
event that will occur this Saturday in Portland.
However,
Street’s participating in Saturday’s March is just the beginning. He has been
and will continue to advocate for and educate the public on the need to think
scientifically, a critical skill that has not been adequately taught to our
children.
“All
humans have what is called a ‘confirmation bias’,” Street explained. “This simply
means that we look for data that supports what we believe and suspect to be
true, instead of data that opposes what we believe, which is the way scientist
approach a hypothesis. Scientific thinking prevents us from ‘shooting from the
hip’ and making decisions and coming to conclusions in error. You don’t have to
be a scientist to have critical scientific thinking skills.”
Street
believes the lack of scientific thinking has a great impact on
misunderstandings surrounding the environment.
For
those who also are interested in being every day stewards of the earth, one
does not need to be an advocate or walk every morning to pick up trash. There
are a variety of small steps that can fit your lifestyle. Some positive action can
be as simple as turning off the lights in a room when no one is there or
planting a tree (make sure it is not invasive to Maine).
If
hiking, biking, snowmobiling or riding your ATV is your passion, one can also
become a member or a volunteer for non-profit environmental organizations where
trails are readily available. Organizations such as the Presumpscot Regional
Land Trust (Black Brook Preserve and Pringle Wildlife Preserve in Windham) or
the Loon Echo Land Trust (Raymond Community Forest in Raymond) are always
willing to accept volunteers.
No
matter what it is you do to celebrate Earth Day, today and/or every day, any
step you take is an important one. As Lothrop stated, “There is no Planet B, so
it might be wise to take care of the one we have.”
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