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Home , Earth Day, Live Earth, Sustainability science

In the Green: At 40, Day Gets Personal Once focused on collective actions, organizations now celebrate the power of individuals to foster change

By Vicki Glaser

Forty years ago, Democratic Wisconsin Sen. on ; encouraging individuals to Gaylord Nelson envisioned a nationwide grassroots make a commitment to responsible, sustainable movement focused on the increasing desecration of consumption; and creating a new the environment, a peaceful demonstration mod- linked to job growth and the global education sys- eled on the campus-based anti-Vietnam War dem- tem. While college campuses are the main focal onstrations of the 1960s. His aim was to tap into point for the group’s events, it is also growing public concern over working with companies to plan activities and and force those issues onto the political agenda of service events as part of its Billion Acts of Green the time. Nelson called for a nationwide celebration campaign. “Earth Day is meant of the environment, to be called Earth Day, the first of which took place in 1970. No less relevant “Earth Day is meant to be educational. It is a way to be educational. and important today, Earth Day—which turns 40 on that anyone can learn about and engage the environ- It is a way that —will be celebrated with events and activi- ment,” says Sean Miller, director of education for ties across the globe in the days and weeks preceding Earth Day Network. “College campuses right now anyone can learn and following this date. in the US are at the vanguard of sustainable change compared to the rest of society,” he observes. about and engage Not only have Earth Day celebrations expanded and the environment.” evolved since 1970, but the concept and message Other programs developed by Earth Day Network underlying the day’s events have changed and include Athletes for the Earth, launched during the Sean Miller matured with the changing political landscape, the 2010 Winter Olympics in , , which growing knowledge base and accumulated scientific promotes athletes as positive role models working data, and the philosophical shift toward a vision that to combat change; the Global Day of Con- encompasses and preser- versation (also April 22), in which mayors from vation as one critical component of a broader push around the are encouraged to engage for . There is growing recognition that in conversation with their communi- policies and initiatives to support global sustain- ties on issues of climate, energy, ability must integrate environmental concerns with and sustainability; and Arts for the rights, health, and well-being of humans and the Earth, in which artists are animals. There is a greater understanding that, to be invited to create works of art successful, efforts must draw on the combined and to be publicly displayed or interrelated resources, goals, and actions of govern- performed on Earth Day. ments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, private foundations, and Looking Inward industry. Yet despite these changes, the spark that ignited Earth Day 40 years ago—individuals coming The biggest change that together with the common purpose of leaving the defines the evolutio of planet a better place for future generations—remains Earth Day is the shift from the driving force behind it today. the collective to the indi- vidual. The focus used to be , DC-based Earth Day Network, whose events and public demonstra- mission is to broaden and diversify the environ- tions intended to raise political mental movement worldwide, is organizing dem- awareness of environmental issues onstrations nationwide for Earth Day as part of its and stimulate legislative action. Today, it ongoing Green Generation Campaign. The cam- is more personal. What can each individual do paign is a two-year initiative based on three core to save energy, reduce water consumption, mini- principles: securing a carbon-free future based mize , help others, and improve the world?

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 3 NO. 2 • APRIL 2010 • DOI: 10.1089/SUS.2010.9788 SUSTAINABILITY 00

In the Green 3.2.2.indd 1 4/19/10 9:26 AM While effective legislative policy is no less urgent, “For us, the importance of what Earth Day stands the scope and mission of many Earth Day celebra- for is more relevant now than ever before. We tions this year will emphasize individual empower- understand that our Earth and our surrounding ment and the development of community-centric community are precious commodities and we are initiatives and programs that promote awareness committed to care for them and nurture them for and involvement, celebrate accomplishments, and future generations,” says Lana Chambliss, associate plan for the future. professor of psychology at Dillard. To commemorate Earth Day 2010, Dillard is planting 100 trees in the Students at colleges and universities across the community surrounding the campus. will participate in food services and facilities management provider ARAMARK’s A Broader Perspective “Happy bEarthday 2010” events, for example, and they will fill their senses with the sight, taste, smell, Once focused primarily on the environment, Earth and touch of what Earth Day means. Reduced light- Day now represents a more diverse palette of sustain- ing in dining halls to conserve energy, culinary able practices. “We have an opportunity to expand activities, and special menu items that incorporate our reach to areas of equity and the economy … and local, organic, vegetarian, and sustainable foods, a are committed to giving our students the resources A “trayless” day “trayless” day (removing trays from dining halls to they need to tackle the sustainability issues they will minimize food waste and water and energy use), and face after they graduate,” says Crystal Simmons, an is planned. campus-wide collection of old cell phones, batteries, employee at Appalachian State University’s newly and toner cartridges for are some of the created Office of Sustainability. Over the past few activities planned. ARAMARK, based in Philadel- years, the Boone, NC, school’s Earth Day celebration phia, will also provide students with tips on how to has grown from a one-day event to a month-long conserve and recycle, will meet with campus hous- series of workshops, speakers, panel discussions, and ing departments to partner on “Dorm Room Dili- . gence” programs, and will conduct a “Campus Waste Audit,” analyzing a single day’s worth of trash gen- “The 40th anniversary of Earth Day serves as a erated on individual campuses. Facility service reminder that we can all play a role in reducing teams will weigh the trash and hold

our environmental footprint,” says Kathy Behrens, a contest for students to guess the executive vice president of social responsibility and total volume of waste. They will also player programs for the National Basketball Asso- assess the amount of recyclable ciation, headquartered in . “Through material that is improperly NBA Green, our environmental initiative, the NBA discarded. family continues to demonstrate our commitment to and renewable resources, and to “Earth Day is an opportunity to part- do all we can to encourage fans to be environmen- ner with our campus communities tally conscious.” in socially responsible activities that reinforce our shared commitment to Tip-off for the NBA’s second annual Green Week the environment. Equally as impor- is April 1st. Players will wear NBA organic cotton tant, our Earth Day programs will shirts for nationally televised games through April help increase everyone’s awareness of 9th. The NBA will host auctions in its arenas and on how their actions and decisions can its website to support the efforts of its partner, the impact their campus and beyond,” Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), also Some Denver Nuggets in says Christopher Stemen, senior based in New York City. The NBA will sponsor green their green shirts director for sustainability and environmental stew- giveaways, and provide fans with information on ardship at ARAMARK Higher Education in Madi- how they can reduce their environmental footprint. son, CT. New York City-based Major League Baseball (MLB), NBA players will At Dillard University in New Orleans, the fragil- in collaboration with the NRDC, launched a Team ity of the environment and how it can impact a Greening Program in 2008 to help coordinate and wear organic community are concerns the faculty and students support environment-friendly practices among understand all too well having experienced MLB teams, explains MLB spokesperson Sarah Leer. cotton shirts for first-hand the devastation of Hurricane Katrina Individual club celebrations of Earth Day are part of nationally televised in 2005. The prediction that could this program and vary from city to city. For example, result in more frequent and severe natural disasters the New York Mets will invite children from the games. such as hurricanes has highlighted the need for community to Citi Field on April 28 for educational sustainable strategies that make communities less activities related to Earth Day. The St. Louis Cardi- vulnerable to the destructive consequences of these nals will host Green Week April 26 to May 1, when events. the team plays at home, and will promote recycling,

00 SUSTAINABILITY MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 3 NO. 2 • APRIL 2010 • DOI: 10.1089/SUS.2010.9788

In the Green 3.2.2.indd 2 4/19/10 9:26 AM including encouraging donations of athletic equip- take place over 24 hours April 18 in more than 40 ment for reuse. The Bike to Busch event will promote cities across six . , founded by environmentally friendly transportation options for , CEO of Beverly Hills, CA-based Control people traveling to and from Busch Stadium. Room, in partnership with former US Vice President , leverages the power of the entertainment The Cleveland Indians will celebrate Green Aware- industry and celebrities to spur the world commu- ness Day at their home game April 17, when all fans nity to action. The Run for Water is a series of six- The San Francisco in attendance will receive an Indians cap made from kilometer runs/walks, accompanied by live musical recycled plastic bottles, Leer reports. The Cincinnati performances and water education activities. Its goal Giants will Reds will purchase renewable energy credits to off- is to increase awareness of global and distribute set the carbon emissions for their game played on lack of access to clean drinking water. The organiz- April 22, and the team will host consumer awareness ers chose the six-kilometer distance because that is information cards sessions throughout the ballpark that day to pro- the average distance many women and children have and videos that mote reduced energy consumption and increased to walk daily to collect water for their families. A recycling. Working with its partners, Pacific Gas and related fundraising effort will collect money to fund include green Electric (PG&E) and the California Academy of Sci- sustainable and scalable water projects in developing ences, the San Francisco Giants will distribute infor- countries. messages mation cards and videos that include green messages delivered by delivered by the players at its home game April 25. For the past four years, Blaine, MN-based Aveda, The first 20,000 fans will receive a reusable bag. a producer of plant-based products for the beauty the players. industry, has focused its Earth Day efforts on pro- What’s on Tap? viding a clean, safe water supply, a basic human resource not readily available to one in seven people Some Earth Day celebrations will focus on efforts to worldwide. The company will sponsor its second preserve and protect the resource that covers more Aveda Walk for Water on April 22, with six-kilome- than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and provides ter walks in more than 80 cities around the globe. a home to countless species of plants and animals— During the past 10 years, Aveda has raised more water, in the , rivers, lakes, and streams around than $14.2 million during the month of April, which it has designated as Earth Month; the money has the globe. The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA, will release the movie “Oceans” on April 22. To sup- gone to support a variety of Earth-focused causes. port the use of the film as a learning tool, Disney has developed a 42-page educator’s guide and an eight- “As a leader in corporate environmental and social page educational activities guide for students. Dur- responsibility, Aveda is using Earth Month 2010 to ing the first week that “Oceans” is in theaters, Disney unite its network professionals and guests to raise will donate 20 cents for every ticket purchased to the $3.5 million to protect clean water globally,” says Disney Worldwide Conservation fund to help pre- Chuck Bennett, vice president, Earth & Community serve coral reefs. Care at Aveda. “In addition to our continued efforts of practicing, and teaching, the philosophy of con- The in Midland, MI, is necting beauty, the environment and well-being, sponsoring the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, to we’ve also created a series of the walks that acknowl- edges the daily struggle of the one in seven people around the world who do not have access to clean water.” Of Yesterdays and Tomorrows

On January 23, 1970, in a prelude to the first Earth Day, 10,000 people gathered at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, for a night-long event called “Project Survival: A Public Teach-Out on the Environmental Problems of Species Man.” Project Survival was organized by a group called Northwest- ern Students for a Better Environment (NSBE), com- prised mostly of , , and engineering graduate students armed with the results of scientific research. Among the organizers were Warren Muir, A water fountain, catchment, and treatment who is now executive director of the division of earth system built with donations from Aveda Earth and life studies at the National Academy of Sciences Month campaign 2009 for Tilwari village, in Washington, DC, and James Reisa, director of home to 100-plus families in India.

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 3 NO. 2 • APRIL 2010 • DOI: 10.1089/SUS.2010.9788 SUSTAINABILITY 00

In the Green 3.2.2.indd 3 4/19/10 9:27 AM ence because of the Vietnam war, we demonstrated An Earth Day Sampler that student activism could also be about investi- gating and spreading the facts, because we judged • The Global Warming Education Network (GWEN) in Lexington, MA, is promoting the Citi- zens Climate Congress in Washington, DC. Individuals and groups concerned about that facts, not emotions, were going to become the climate change plan to gather in front of either the White House or Capitol on April most important ammunition in the coming battles 22 to encourage President Obama to take steps to educate misinformed Americans over environmental protection. The environmental about climate change and the need to take action to preserve a livable climate. problems of today might cause some to wonder what GWEN views climate change as a threat to American leadership, prosperity, and sus- has been accomplished over the past four decades of tainability. effort. The answer is that these problems would have become much, much worse without those efforts. • The University of Albany in New York will hold a clothing exchange on campus, offering gently used clothing in exchange for a nonperishable food item. Leftover clothing The battles continue, and will continue for the fore- and donated food will be given to local charities. Other events will include sustainable seeable future. Northwestern University and its stu- food offerings, student performances, a panel discussion, and exhibitions. dents have a tradition to uphold in leading those battles.” • On April 24, Texas State University-San Marcos will launch its 2010-2011 university-wide Common Experience program, with the theme, “Sustainability: Science, Policy, and From the perspective of Bridget Calendo, director Opportunity” at the school’s Aquarena Center Earth Day event. A joint project of Texas of operations and outreach for the Initiative for Sus- State and the surrounding community, Common Experience encourages sustainable tainability and Energy at Northwestern, “The suc- practices through seminars, symposia, and educational opportunities leading to a cess of the 1970 Project Survival event was the direct degree/certificate. result of the determination and advocacy of a group • Peggy Shepard, executive director and co-founder of the of Northwestern students who understood the organization WE ACT in New York City, will deliver the keynote address at Pennsylvania- urgency of sustainability issues. This group of stu- based Villanova University’s Earth Day program, which will also include a and dents created their own Earth Day event, prior to the a symposium on , consumption, and global poverty, coordi- establishment of this national day. … It is our plea- nated jointly by faculty, students, and staff. sure to bring these alumni back to campus during the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, to discuss how • The city of St. Louis will hold its 12th annual Earth Day Festival, a community-based celebration that draws more than 25,000 people and features 300 vendors and the 1970 Project Survival event impacted profes- exhibitors, entertainers, and educational activities. sional choices and decisions, as well as share past lessons learned with today’s generation of students,

• Earth Week will be celebrated at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with a tree-planting who exhibit the same passion for advocacy around event as part of becoming a Tree Campus USA; a green purchasing forum to design energy and sustainability issues.” a sustainable purchasing policy for the coming year; and planning for a pedestrian/ bicycle project proposed as part of a larger transportation plan for the university. At Green Mountain College, in Poultney, VT, the theme of learning from the past and building for • Long Beach, CA-based Aquarium of the Pacific’s 10th annual Earth Day celebra- tion gives visitors the opportunity to touch more than 150 sharks and to learn how to the future will also share the spotlight at this year’s protect their in the wild. It will also include other hands-on educational Earth Day celebration. The college’s annual Thomas demonstrations and sustainable seafood cooking demonstrations. L. Benson Lecturer for 2010 will be astronaut Alan Bean, one of a select group of Americans who has • Newton, MA-based Planetpals, a children’s educational web site about Earth and the viewed the Earth from the . He was the fourth environment, is sponsoring a “Be a PAL” Earth Day video contest for preschool or ele- person to set foot on the lunar surface, piloting the mentary age children. Kids submit a 60-second or shorter video showing how they are lunar module during the Apollo 12 mission in 1969. a Planetpal. The winning videos will be featured on the website, www.planetpals.com. Subsequently, Bean was commander of the second manned mission to Skylab, during which he spent 59 and toxicology at the U.S. National Research Council, also in DC. Original members from this group will return to North- western for a 40th anniversary Earth Day 2010 celebration, NSBE reunion, and panel discussion. This event will mark the culmination of the universi- ty’s One Book One Northwestern Project, an annual reading program in which students are encouraged to read a particular book selection, which this year is Thomas Friedman’sHot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America.

“Our student group at Northwestern turned a lot of heads when 10,000 people attended the Project Survival teach-out,” says Reisa. “But we did much more than that. At a time when student activism was mostly seen to be about anger and civil disobedi- An Earth Day celebration in St. Louis

00 SUSTAINABILITY MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 3 NO. 2 • APRIL 2010 • DOI: 10.1089/SUS.2010.9788

In the Green 3.2.2.indd 4 4/19/10 9:27 AM days in orbit around the Earth. Since his retirement biochemicals, and biopower using the university’s from NASA in 1981, he has pursued his passion for Forest Biorefinery, a biomass conversion facility. painting, drawing inspiration from his unique per- spectives of the Earth. “Already today, landowners are maximizing the pro- ductivity of these land resources by nurturing high- On Earth Day, Green Mountain College will growth woody biomass and herbaceous crops. Our celebrate its new biomass facility, scheduled for research team is unlocking the fundamental science completion April 1. The facility represents a major of forest biomass,” says Ragauskas, professor in the step toward the college’s goal of achieving carbon school of chemistry and biochemistry and Fulbright neutrality by 2011. Visitors can tour the biomass Distinguished Chair in Alternative Energy. facility, which will burn wood chips to generate both heat and power, providing 80 percent of the By analyzing the chemical structures that comprise school’s heat and producing 20 percent of its plant cell walls, the researchers are developing cost- electricity. efficient chemical and biological conversion technol- ogies to transform cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, At the Georgia Institute of Technology in , and other plant components into green products. To Professor Art Ragauska and his team will present a date they have created biobased films with poten- web-based poster session on Earth Day to showcase tial applications in food packaging, hydrogels, and its research on developing sustainable chemical lignin-based plastics, as well as cellulose whiskers solutions for converting lignocellulosic biomass and nanoballs that are being developed into biocom- from forest resources to biomaterials, , posites.

Art Ragauskas and his research team at Georgia Tech focus on International Flavor converting forest bioresources to biofuels, biopower, and bio- The Environment Programme (UNEP) is organizing a series of events to take place during based materials and chemicals. the six-week period between Earth Day in the United States and (WED), on June 5. UNEP selected Pittsburgh, PA, as the host city for this year’s North American celebrations. The Mayor’s Office of and Energy Efficiency in Pittsburgh, in partnership with local sponsor Bayer Corp., will work with local government agencies, businesses, and organizations to create, sponsor, and support the 2010 WED events. “Already today, The theme of Toyota Canada’s 2010 Earth Day Scholarship Program, a joint project with Earth Day landowners are Canada (April 22), is “Cultivating Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders.” The company will grant 20 awards of $5,000 each to recognize and reward graduating Canadian high school students who have distin- maximizing the guished themselves through environmental community service, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and academic excellence. Regional panels of community, business, and environmental leaders will productivity of select winners representing the five geographic regions across Canada. The awards will go directly to offset the cost of tuition, books, and other educational expenses incurred during the first year of full-time these land post-secondary studies. resources by nurturing high- growth woody biomass and herbaceous crops. Our research team is unlocking the fundamental science of forest biomass.” Art Ragauskas

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • VOL. 3 NO. 2 • APRIL 2010 • DOI: 10.1089/SUS.2010.9788 SUSTAINABILITY 00

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