Just about every resident of Wisconsin knows about Earth Day, which will be observed on Friday, April 22nd. It was founded by former US Senator and Wisconsin Governor, Gaylord Nelson, back in 1970. The director of Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Paul Robbins, now sits at the actual desk which was used by Nelson every work day. The former government official passed away in 2005.
Earth Day is Still Relevant as Told by Wisconsin Environmentalist Paul Robbins
Robbins is not sure if Nelson had imagined the world we now inhabit, and the environmentalist tells that when the former government official founded Earth Day, it had nothing to do with politics. Robbins stated the following regarding the subject: “Gaylord Nelson wanted this to be a teach-in. He didn’t call for mass mobilization in the street, he didn’t call for pickets, he called for a conversation. And so you still have got to stop and reflect and learn, that’s why it’s a community event.”
The environmentalist tells many that this particular day for the Earth is still relevant to this day. In fact, it is seen to be more relevant now than it was back in 1970. This is because of today’s environmental challenges which are now larger than those that had inspired Nelson to create the worldwide phenomenon.
Robbins says that global climate change, along with extreme weather events and super storms that have happened over the course of the past few years, have now made everyone aware of the changes within the environment.
Gaylord Nelson, which was born and raised in a small town situated in the northern portion of Wisconsin, was concerned about the challenges brought about by oil spills, wilderness preservation, pollution, and other issues back in 1970. Robbins does believe that if Nelson were still alive to this very day, he would most certainly be appalled by the global climate change which has now even become such a politicized issue. However, the environmentalist does mention that there are some things that Nelson would be happy to know about.
“I think he’d be quite pleasantly surprised that in particular his injunction that the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment, and not the other way around – that’s a Gaylord Nelson quote,” Robbins says. “I think he’d be quite impressed that businesses actually, many, not all, actually think that way.”
Robbins, along with many other people around the globe who continuously pull out efforts with regards to Earth Day, knows that there is a cause for hope. Some of the world’s largest companies have already established greenhouse has reduction strategies as well as have steadily increased their use of renewable energy resources.