The first Earth Day was celebrated 55 years ago on April 22, 1970. The front-page headline of the New York Times trumpeted “Millions join Earth Day observances across the nation.”
President Richard Nixon planted a tree on the White House lawn to commemorate the day. This outpouring of enthusiasm to protect the planet was propelled by some alarming images: pictures of dead, oil-soaked, birds, and seals from an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara; an Ohio river so polluted it caught fire; Los Angeles smog so toxic that “unhealthy to breath” days reached 200 that year. Millions of Earth Day demonstrators demanded action. Congress quickly established the Environmental Protection Agency and put in place national air and water quality standards.
Over the years, pollution control regulations and environmental protection policies to keep communities safe from toxic pollution were promoted by both Republicans and Democrats. In recent years that has changed. Republicans have become more and more opposed to environmental protection regulations, choosing to side with polluting industries who complain that cleaning up their pollution reduces their profits. They have embraced coal, oil and gas companies by rejecting climate science that shows emissions from burning fossil fuels are overheating the planet and causing extreme weather events. “Drill, baby, drill” policies put polluters first over the health and safety of everyday people.