Earth Day turns 50; early springlike weather continues
Temperatures run close to average in the next week
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If the river in your town is on fire, there might be a pollution problem.
A series of fires on Ohio’s Cuyahoga River in Cleveland helped trigger awareness for the first Earth Day in 1970.
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River on the southern shores of Lake Erie caught on fire as chemicals, oil, and other industrial materials that had oozed into the river somehow ignited. Just a few months before, on Jan. 28, 1969, an oil rig leaked millions of gallons of oil off the coast of Santa Barbara.
That same year, reports surfaced that our national symbol, the bald eagle, was rapidly declining as a species due to the chemical DDT, while around the world, whales were being hunted nearly to extinction. These and other incidents caught the attention of the national media and galvanized public awareness of the many environmental insults being hurled at the nation and the planet.
It’s clear that Earth Day triggered wider environmental awareness that helped to create the EPA and Endangered Species Act.
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Growing awareness
In recent years climate change awareness is growing.
The most recent Yale/George Mason University survey on climate opinion now shows that 57 percent of Americans are either concerned or alarmed about climate change. Only 10 percent of Americans are now dismissive about climate change.
And 31 percent of Americans are now alarmed about climate change. That’s the largest group in the survey and represents a 21 percent increase in just six years.
Like spring
Our weather looks fairly quiet over the next few days. Scattered rain showers Friday favor the southern third of Minnesota. Temperatures will feel like early spring through the weekend and next week.
