Celebrate Earth Day with Wally, IEUA and City of Chino

Hello, fellow water warriors! Happy Earth Month! This week we are talking about the beginnings of Earth Day and the importance that comes with it. So, join me in a stream down memory lane.

The year is 1966, November 26th, in New York City, and the New York Times headline reads “…NEW YORK CAUGHT IN POISON BALLOON.…” Due to changes in weather and pressure in the atmosphere, reports shared how air pollution became trapped. Effects to the population included the pollutants increasing lung diseases and eye irritation amongst the residents. Fast forward to January 1969, there was an oil spill off the Santa Barbra coast. According to the Los Angeles Times, the spill stretched 35 miles off the coastline and devastated the ecosystem in its path. A few months later, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio once again caught on fire, says the Smithsonian magazine, due to years of dumping waste and oil that sat on top of the water. These were just a couple of the damaging incidents occurring on our Earth. This is the opposite of what we now call environmental stewardship.

These environmental incidents led the state of Wisconsin’s then-Senator Nelson to make a call to action. Senator Nelson turned to the local university students during spring break to hold information sessions to educate them about the environmental degradation occurring. From there on, the student group shared the importance of caring for our limited natural resources through campus events. With a growing emergence of environmental consciousness leading up to April 22, 1970, the group decided to change the event/day’s name to Earth Day, sparking millions across America to join in demanding better care for our health and the Earth’s health.

This rushing emergence of people coming together, like individual water droplets coming together to form a raging river, created a loud noise for everyone, including Congress, to push through and enforce federal laws constructed during this time, like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, as well as the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. It ensures that we start considering the Earth’s Health when we use its resources.

So how can we unite to continue to cherish the Earth as the community did in 1970? Join my friends and me at IEUA and the City of Chino as they host the

14th annual Earth Day community celebration at the Chino Creek Wetlands on April 20, 2023, from 4 PM to 7 PM. There will be lots of fun activities, animal encounters, and free goodies, all while learning more about water conservation and ways to be the best environmental steward you can be. Ask a friend to come with you, and you can carpool together. Owlie and I will be there, so make sure you wave hello. See you on the other side, environmental stewards!