The Evolution of the Earth Day - Case Study Example

Qussai Alnassir ENGL106 Prof. Essinger 7/4 Earth Day The definition of a place, a region, and an realm like a country is attached to historic occurrences that could have changed the views and perspectives of some issues. Some of the changes have met numerous criticisms while others have gained global support. Therefore, relevance of a place to emotional and social investments to a particular location remains a question over time. Writing as a preservation of knowledge and information is used as reference to the organization of regional residents from historic times to the present (Engles, 2007). However, the true picture of preservation has been stalled by political inclusiveness that has created more problems on regionalism values. The problems are however reconciled through regional writing that emphasize on landmark events that define a regional behavior and perception on historical related issues. Cultural definition of a home is reflected through the urban housing forms in the twentieth century (Engles, 2007). The subject on urban formation and the kind of urban homes sets a text through which a skillful presentation of a settlement is made. That is, the presentation based on buildings schematics, order of materials applied, and the occupancy of a building defines the type of settlement type (Engles, 2007). Geographical space and places have been used to define villages, towns, parks, gardens, fields, and forests (Engles, 2007). The space and its evolutions have been used to define the ecological belonging to a group of people. The space defines the emotional attachment that gathers historical information about the origin of some group of people. Good definitions of space and place remain alive though all ages. Any explanation on suppleness and advancement on a place remains nostalgic to a narrator. It is through such definitions that the Earth’s day in the US was born. According to Green Gazette on the evolution of the Earth Day, the idea was facilitated by the aftermath of oil spillage in 1969. Through the efforts of Denis Hayes, 20 million participants took to US parks, streets and auditoriums protesting against environmental obliteration (Green Gazette, 2014). Green Gazette describes the event as “five times larger than any anti-war rally and 20 times larger than any civil rights rally that had come before it” (Green Gazette, 2014). The key participants of the events were environmental health and conservationism. The day yielded the passing of the current so much enjoyed acts on clean air, access to clean water and protection of the endangered species act. According to Webber (2008), Earth Day event worked as an impetus to growing concern on environmental problems in the US. Crisis-driven policymaking attracted public expectation and judgment. Americans have thus learnt how to approve environmental protection related policies despite their hesitant nature on how the policy goals can be achieved. Webber (2008) places the American politicians as being obliged to know how policies are defined, spun, or framed regardless of public opinion. Earth Day is the main event that caused environmental policymaking. Policy makers and citizens have been seen to have differing views on policy issues. Policy imaging however has the ability to create an understanding on the evolution of policy issues to individuals and policy makers. The day’s prominence is felt till now in the education system. The system integrates the knowledge of human impact on natural environment and the expected benefits of environmental protection (Webber, 2008). The impact of such intensified sharing on Earth Day resolutions is eminent through the influence it has had on the public’s expectation on solutions to policy related problems. The common knowledge is that environmental policies are crisis focused and grassroots led. The fact that Americans responded to a visible pollution makes the movement to look like a spontaneous expression of common dissatisfaction. Earth Day initiators have made an impression as the mastermind of environmental conservation. However, Earth Day was a follow up of Recreational Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) established in 1958 (Webber, 2008). ORRRC was mandated to determine the Americans outdoor wants in relation to the years 1976 and 2000, identify the available recreational resources to satisfy the needs, in those years, and determine the policies and programs necessary for meeting the wants in 1976 and 2000. In 1958, ORRRC made immediate impact by having President Kennedy endorse the movement’s suggestions and the establishment of the recreation resources. The impact lead to the passing of Wilderness act, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the Land and Water Conservation fund act (Webber, 2008). The three acts answered to the early concerns on air and water pollution, which was considered very serious in 1968. The acts therefore remain the pioneer ideas behind wilderness and water policies enjoyed today. The achievements made by ORRRC therefore show that environmental concern was accumulative earlier before 1970 Earth Day. Although Earth Day 1970 still managed to package the activism in a way that would convince the world that they initiated the day, it is evident that the activism worked to affect an already existing upward-moving trend. Since 1970, environmental concern has received major concern over generations. Four decades later in 2000, Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans supported environmentalism goals. However, the level of environmental participation is still wanting. Gallup polls showed that only 16% of the respondents were active in environmental conservation. This implies that majority of Americans support environmentalism but does little to meet the environmental demands. Earth Day influenced political forces by emphasizing on particular attention on the environment. The political class considered talking of the environmental crisis that needed immediate action as well as expressing concern on the congress ability to solve the problems amidst the struggles by the bureaucrats to thwart any efforts put in that line. The political class also questioned the state’s capability to reduce pollution and improve conservation as well as the ability of upcoming big businesses to meet new challenges brought about by technology (Webber, 2008). Yandle (2013) explored the effects of Earth Day on environmental rent seeking. Common-law environmental protection that covered 49 out of 50 states together with local laws was replaced by new statutes on performance standards. The replacement was facilitated by the dissatisfaction presented by the controversial court actions that imposed costs on one right holder. Common- law actions were based on the exact damage caused instead of the regulation violations done. The law provided actual remedies to hurt parties. In common-law, downstream parties have the right to clean water and air from upstream (Yandle, 2013). Any violators from upstream could either pay the harmed downstream parties or negotiate with the downstream parties on purchasing their environmental rights. Therefore, as long as the upstream parties had money, they would do whatever it pleases them since they can buy the cost of discharge. The environmentalist in the Earth Day could not agree to common-law discharge. Performance standards and the use of economic incentives would therefore reduce the rent seeking cost. Bailey (2000) did a study on the Earth Day then and now. Just like the previous writers, Bailey highlights that Earth Day remains the largest movement on environmental conservation that US has witnessed. The movement’s impact is still felt today through the policies written then. Among the issues attended to by Earth Day, global famine caused by explosion of the bomb was the big issue. Predictions on the effect of famine were estimated to continue escalating by 1980 in the world due to the ecosystem inability to accommodate the growing population. However, the so far witnessed famine in Somalia and Ethiopia are a result of political instability. According to Barley (2002), food production today has out shown population. This is evident through the cheap food prices on the basic foodstuffs in the market; this is according to World Bank report 2000. The world’s population by 2000 was at 6 billion, 30 % below the 7 billion predictions made in 1970. Therefore, today, it is evident that world population would not drive world hunger. Hunger is a product of poverty in an individual member of a population. Another issue addressed by Earth Day was pollution. Biosphere was feared to be under treat of poisoning after smog choked the cities and river banks filled with sludge. The decline on fish and bird species were attributed to the pollution. The prediction was that by 1985, amount of sunlight reaching the earth will have been reduced by half due to the smog. Land will cease its usability and air quality will get worse by each day due to the increased nitrogen emissions released into the air. However, the 1970 predictions have been defied with time. The level of pollution estimated by Earth Day has been on the decrease due to the emission targets set aside by the federal state and local governments. Economic efficiency has lead to technology investments that ensure cleaner air is available. Water pollution has also been on the decline due to the heavy investment made on water pollution control efforts despite the prediction made. 60 to 70% of the rivers and lakes meet the state quality goals hence making them conducive habitats for fish. At Earth Day, synthetic chemicals like pesticides were also a main source of concern. Life expectancy was expected to keep reducing if pesticides like DDT will still be in circulation. DDT was characterized by liver failure and cancer. However, the conventional wisdom of Earth Day 1970 has been challenged. Synthetic chemicals and natural carcinogens in human diet were termed to be so low to cause pose any risk of cancer by National Research Council of the National Academy of Science 1996. General environmental hazards thus seem to be more unlikely to have an impact on the cancer rates. Depletion of the nonrenewable resources was another major fear before the publication of the highly opposed “Limits to Growth report” in 1972 (Bailey, 2000). The original fear was that the usage of nonrenewable resources was higher than the production. It was therefore feared that resources like crude oil will be depleted. However, World Resources Institute recorded that since 1970, prices on minerals had dropped by 50%. Global oil reserves were estimated to be at 2.1 trillion barrels. This simply implies that there was an abundance of the minerals and oil for the price to fall. The world now has more developed technologies for exploiting the resources hence making it easier for new discoveries that were not accounted for in the Erath Day 1970. Despite the earth’s day evolution facing criticism around the globe, the movement has grown in scope, structure, and participation (Green Gazette, 2014). Through the movement, environmental awareness in the planet has gained ground in many policy debates. This is due to the identified multigenerational environmental challenges that keep asking for continued attention and new initiatives to overcome the problems. Earth’s day thus challenges environmentalists to prioritize environmental engagement superior to political and regional politics. Earth Day calls the national government to participate highly in the engagement while sparing local and state governments (Webber, 2008). The call lead to constitution amendments, economic structural changes and policy coordination across economic developments (Webber, 2008). Environmental problems have gained interest in law and policymaking. Through the knowledge on environmental problems does not directly order one to join the movement, there is an increased awareness on “environmental justice, social sustainability, market legitimacy, intergenerational equity, the welfare state, laissez-faire capitalism and green environment movements” (Webber, 2008). Support and agreeing to environmental goals have gained prominence over civil rights in America. This also applies to the interest given to presidential polls. Majority of Americans would give more attention to environmental policies compared to the polls. Earth Day has therefore worked as an effective and popular mechanism on focusing on the environment. The movement is an established hub of activities supported by environmental Protection Agency that give the calendar of events on environment conservation. Through the movement, a number of environmental advocacy groups have been born. Among them are environmental action, league of conservation voters, and friends of the earth just to mention a few. Reference List Bailey, R. (2000). Earth day then and now. True state of the planet. McGraw-Hill. 18- 28. Engles T. (2007). American literature. eastern illinois university. DOI 10.1215/00029831-2007-025. Green Gazette. (2014). The evolution of earth day. Mother Earths News. Accessed on 15 July 2014 from: http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/history-of-earth-day-zmgz14amzsto.aspx Webber, D. J. (2008). Earth day and its precursors: continuity and change in the evolution of mid twentieth-century us environmental policy. Review of policy research, 25(4), 313-332. Yandle, B. (2013). How earth day triggered environmental rent seeking. The Independent Review, 18(1), 35-47. Read More