'An environment of decency for all living creatures'

 

"Our goal is not just an environment of clean air andwater and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency,quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other livingcreatures."Gaylord Nelson
I was just out of college and only a month ahead of a stint in the Army when I wasassigned to report on the first Earth Day in 1970.   My editor was skeptical that anything mighthappen, but it soon became clear that people, especiallyyoung people, were organizing dozens of projects and I was on the frontline reporting about them.
In 1990, I persuadedSenator Nelson to be the Earth Day guest speaker at the small college campus where Iwas working as Director of Public Relations. He spoke eloquently and passionately about why we must continue to carry it forward and expand upon it eachand every year.  [image error]Gaylord Nelson
“Earth Day achieved what I had hoped for and then some,” hetold the students.   “The purpose of Earth Day was to get anationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it wouldshake the political establishment out of its lethargy and, finally, force thisissue permanently into the political arena.
“It was truly an astonishing grassroots explosion."
If ever there was a Writer’s Moment for me, it was the first EarthDay.  It has remained so ever since.