The 39th annual Earth Day is April 22, 2009. This year's events come at a time when there is a global concern about water supplies and water quality.
Water pollution was a problem decades before the modern environmental movement began. Stagnant, filthy water was the norm in and around dozens of cities in the midwest and east.
1962 was the year when Silent Spring hit bookstands and created a sensation. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist who researched 12 dangerous poisons used by the chemical industry, including DDT.
1969 was a pivotal year in U.S. environmental history. That spring, President Richard Nixon ordered the restructuring of key federal agencies along geographic areas or regions. Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington comprise Region 10. His plan helped the federal government funnel resources directly to these agencies without state interference.
Simultaneously, Nixon was seriously considering forming an agency to deal with environmental problems. 1969 was also the year of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA's stated purpose was: "to declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment, to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man, and, to enrich our understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation."
On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day celebration brought 20 million Americans out for a day of demonstrations and shared work in hundreds of cities and towns. The groundswell created by this day and the burgeoning environmental movement contributed to swift approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Clean Air Act of 1970 (earlier air quality legislation was passed in 1955, 1963 and 1967).
In 1972, it was water's turn again. The Clean Water Act (CWA) was implemented to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters, with an aggressive time-line for removing toxins by the mid-eighties.
Since those days businesses, federal, state, tribal, municipal and other entities have squared off in battles over the use of this resource that once seemed infinite. While much has changed for the better in the past forty years, we are dealing with the strain on all natural resources from our growing population of voracious consumers. Aquifers are running low, groundwater pollution has poisoned many municipal supplies, and species such as salmon are hanging in the balance.
For the first time since the 1960s, a significant number of Americans are taking responsibility for water. We're beginning to pay attention to what goes down our drains and into our shared water supply. Our Northwest Water is online to help you sort out this critical issue and find practical ways to conserve.
Mary Hawkins
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