April 22 is one of my favorite days of the year. Nestled nicely between 420 and my birthday, Earth Day has become a day of renewal for me in my environmental aspirations. It gives me an opportunity to rejuvenate myself in the spirit of community and let the history of the day inspire me to continue the fight for a greener, cleaner and more conscious planet.
Developed in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, Earth Day has grown into a celebration of environmentalism — a day of action against environmental threats and an international day of acknowledgement to the environmental leaders that have gotten us where we are today. It’s the greenest day of the year, with cities around the globe participating in environmental events in solidarity with the global struggle for the environment.
Earth Day is more than a congregation of hippies singing kumbaya. On New York City’s Earth Day in 1970, an estimated 20 million people participated, holding teach-ins and demonstrations that resonated with the anger that many felt about their inability to make tangible environmental change. Fast forward 20 years to Earth Day 1990, where the anger had turned into action. Two hundred million people in 141 countries urged their peers to support small consumer actions to create change, such as recycling. The overwhelming popularity and the strength of people from all over the world helped propel the United Nations Earth Summit into existence in 1992.
Each year, more and more people use the power of their collective voice to inspire and enact global and environmental change. Earth Day is not just a symbol of an environmental movement: It is a day of solidarity. It is a day during which we acknowledge our common struggle and use the energy of an entire planet to force our leaders to create change.
As you would expect, the Bay Area is a hub of activity during Earth Day, so much so that many groups have expanded the holiday into a whole week of activities, workshops and speakers geared toward environmental activism, sustainability and consumer consciousness. The City of Berkeley’s Earth Days have already started and its activities are as diverse as the environmental movement itself.
I do have to give special props to UC Berkeley though, for creating an incredible schedule of environmental activities for the next week. If you’re interested in participating in some of the amazing Earth Week events on campus, below I’ve listed a few that you won’t want to miss. For a full list of on-campus events, check out the Facebook event.
- First on Monday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. is the 10th Annual Sustainability Summit hosted by the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, which will feature plastics recycler Mike Biddle as the keynote speaker, remarks from the chancellor and snacks provided by the Berkeley Student Food Collective, where I’m the fundraising coordinator.
- On Tuesday, be sure to check out the film screening of Thin Ice from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., a documentary that follows scientists from all over the world to gain insight into the climate change debate. Not only will you learn a ton about climate science, but there will be free Cheese Board as well.
- Wednesday’s big event is a campaign workshop with sponsors including the Student Environmental Resource Center and the California Student Sustainability Coalition. It will be held in 251 Dwinelle from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will focus on how to effectively use online tools to further your activist goals.
- Friday’s biggest event will help all those looking for a way to get into environmental work, but aren’t quite sure where to start. From 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Sutardja Dai Hall Kvamme Atrium will be the Green Speed Networking Event, which will host dozens of professionals in environmental fields for a speed-dating style of networking. Start securing your next internship, make connections for post-grad life and RVSP here.
I have not even gotten close to giving credit to all the amazing work our countless environmental organizations have done to make this Earth Week rock. This is a testament to the power of our environmental community when we can all come together, and I hope that everyone tries to at least check one of these events out. We all have finals coming up way too close for comfort, but next week I encourage everyone to take a second to stop, smell the roses and give thanks to the countless environmental leaders of past generations who fought tirelessly to ensure that us modern environmentalists had opportunities to fight for a greener tomorrow.
Image Source: Missoula Public Library via Creative Commons
Contact Carli Baker at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter: @carliannebaker.