Monday, April 7, 2014

Why Isn't Earth Day a National Holiday?


Earth Day is Tuesday April 22. On the first Earth Day in 1970 the Cuyahoga River was on fire as it flowed through downtown Cleveland on its way to Lake Erie. 

The cornucopia of unregulated pollutants being dumped into the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland caused the river to burn as it flowed into Lake Erie 

Today after passage of the Water Pollution Control Act aka Clean Water Act and other protections we have salmon spawning in the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland.


The Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland today looks like it belongs in the wilds of northern Wisconsin - and it has lake-run salmon spawning in it each spring


Protection of Mother Earth is celebrated one day each year (shouldn't we celebrate our real mother everyday?) in April. Given the importance of clean water to drink and clean air to breathe and wild areas to get in touch with ourselves again I think Earth Day should be a National holiday. Columbus Day is and Chris never stepped foot on what is now the United States.



Shouldn't the giver of all life - the Earth - rank higher in priority than an Italian sailor who was looking for spices for the King and Queen of Spain when he landed on Grand Turk island in the West Indies?

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