Earth Day at Ohio University has become increasingly more important and is celebrated yearly. Even with the holiday falling on Palmer Fest, people still found a way to spread awareness for dear old Mother Earth. With climate change and sustainability becoming a more significant conversation topic each year, this was how students cared for trees of green and red roses, too.
The first official Earth Day dates back to 1970 and is celebrated in over 190 countries each April 22. Before the first Earth Day, Americans were on a consumption high, overusing leaded gas and having little-to-no awareness of their effect on the environment. The smell of polluted air was often referred to as “the smell of prosperity.”
Senator Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, announced the idea for the first Earth Day after witnessing an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The idea was a hit, and over 20 million Americans were inspired to spread awareness of the harmful effects of pollution and the extinction of wildlife species. Earth Day resulted in the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the first environmental laws.
Since then, Earth Day has spread around the globe, and now 1 billion individuals mobilize for action every Earth Day, inspiring and informing people everywhere about the beauty of Mother Earth. Originally, Earth Day reminded people to simply pick up litter, recycle any plastic or paper, turn off the faucet and the lights to conserve water and energy or simply admire the Earth for the beauty it has to offer. Recently, however, the steps to care for the Earth have become more of a requirement and less of a reminder.
Sam Crowl, associate director of sustainability at OU, is assisting OU’s Office of Sustainability in the Ohio Earth Day Celebrations held in the Walter Rotunda this Thursday, April 27, from noon to 4 p.m. During this event, there will be presentations, Earth Day-themed poetry and an Earth Day proclamation from the mayor of Athens.
“We just want to bring the campus and communities attention to environmental issues and, in particular, sustainability,” said Crowl. “We always focus not only on the environment, but also on society, also on people. If we save the globe and all the people die, it doesn’t do us a lot of good. People are just as important as the planet, and then we also focus on economic prosperity, so we often talk about the three P’s: people, planet and prosperity.”
Kate Harmon, a junior studying environmental studies, is the events coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, and Isabel Stitchick, a junior studying environmental studies, is the social media and marketing coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. Both of them have put a lot of time and effort into making these Earth Day Celebrations, and have a true passion for caring for the environment.
“I feel like there’s a lot of beautification events and things around this time of year just to give back and clean up our Earth, but think about more,” said Harmon. “We should be doing that all the time, too ... How can you influence or change your lifestyle to make the Earth happy all the time?”
She added that in addition to taking the time to admire Earth’s beauty, the Earth needs to be kept in mind more often to ensure its safety for the future.
While picking up litter and using a refillable, potentially trendy water bottle are certainly good ways to keep the planet in mind, there are other lifestyle changes and small, easy things everyone can do to really make environmental progress.
“A really easy thing to do is just maybe not eat meat once or twice a week,” said Stitchick. “Just because the livestock industry and factory farming contribute to so many carbon emissions each year, so just cutting down on your meat consumption. There are so many wonderful local places to eat here and to get local produce and support local farmers.”
In addition to limiting meat consumption, Crowl, Harmon and Stitchick all agreed that choosing to walk or bike instead of driving and transitioning to more reusable products as opposed to single-use plastics, can really add up to something the more people do it.
Even with such simple yet effective steps, many still believe the sustainability and climate change conversation is a problem for later generations to come. However, many students at OU, like Meghan Martin, a freshman studying environmental science and sustainability, believe the opposite. Martin said the environmental conversation is a very current and very prominent issue, and without action soon, things may take a turn for the worst.
“For years, people have been talking about, ‘Oh, climate change, global warming,’ and I think now, it’s actually starting to show,” said Martin. “Especially in Third World countries, it’s starting to show climate change. I think it’s really been talked about and I think people are trying to do something about it.”
The environmental conversation is more crucial than ever for people to listen to, according to Martin and many other students on campus. With it being so prominent now, progress is being made and action is being taken to ensure that Mother Earth will live happily and healthily, and so will everyone else.
This Earth Day, students across the greens shared their plans for the holiday and every day to make a difference. Despite impending climate change, Bobcats continue to implement sustainability into their daily life and work to ensure everyone knows what a wonderful world it is.
