International Mother Earth Day: Blog

In 1970 Dave was a student at California Lutheran University and held the position of Religious Activities Commissioner in the Student Government.

With the support of Rev. Gerry Swanson, the College Chaplain, and the assistance of two other students, Will Hall and Susie Struck, Dave reallocated his budget to celebrate the first Earth Day.

So many good ideas soon surfaced that the event quickly became a week-long celebration and included, not only the college community, but the entire city of Thousand Oaks, California.

The week long program included:

• Clifford Humphrey, founder of Ecology Action and dubbed "Grandfather of the Recycling Movement". His photo pushing a globe in a baby buggy made the cover of New York Times magazine that first Earth Day 1970.

• Beach clean-up and party

• Tree planting at the campus chapel and service for the Earth

• Free community movie, featuring the story of John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Grand Canyon in the Walt Disney movie. "The Ten Who Dared", along with a Donald Duck cartoon about littering.

• Lecture on air pollution from professor from Oxnard

• Lecture on population, pollution, and survival from Dr. Wayne Davis.

• Danny Cox, who provided an outdoor concert and picnic preceded by a litter clean-up day.
Some of the key issues of the day, were how to stop pollution (especially litter), recycling, air pollution, and toxic chemicals being used in fertilizers.

The first Earth Day attracted an estimated 20 million participants in programs across the nation. The event was so politically popular that that Congresspersons and Senators scrambled to find a place to give a speech to their constituents as Congress was closed for the day.

Soon after, strongly bipartisan efforts worked to establish the U.S. EPA, and pass environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Act.

The Earth Day efforts were supported by business and labor, Republicans and Democrats, farmers and city dwellers; and the rich and the poor of our nation.

In fact, being for a more clean and healthy environment was so politically popular that Sen. Jacob Javitz from New York expressed concern that people were working so hard for the environment that they might forget other issues like poverty, hunger, and the war.

Reese remembers his first Earth Day planting lemon and orange trees in Marin County. I remember thinking that someday these bee-pollinated fruit trees would give us such a wonderful bounty of citrus; and today those trees yield such a plentiful crop that we give more than three quarters of them away as gifts from the Earth.

Fast forward 20 years from the first Earth Day, and the issues were beginning to become more complex, though a spirit of optimism and plans for large-scale international cooperation for solutions still prevailed.

In 1987 the Bruntland Report, Our Common Future, had been published outlining a global agenda and potential solutions through international cooperative efforts.

That same year, the Montreal Protocol, provided the world with a great example of how international cooperation could solve serious environmental problems and addressed the pressing issue of the depletion of the ozone layer and put the planet on track to recover by the year 2050.

In 1989, our colleague, Dr. Noel Brown, former Director of UNEP for the North American Region and U.N. Headquarters in NY, was instrumental in achieving the success of the Montreal Protocol. He spoke of the upcoming challenges of climate change and the hopeful possibility that the U.N. would give the Earth actual rights and empower a new group to enforce those rights of the Earth.

This new spirit of international cooperation set the tone for the 20th Earth Day anniversary in 1990, where people were preparing for the upcoming Earth Summit in 1992. In the short 20 years, Earth Day had gone from a largely U.S. event with 20 million people to an international event with 200 million participants from 145 countries.

The issues now included climate change, deforestation, population, conserving biodiversity, a possible new Earth Charter, and a program for sustainable development.

In 1992, the optimism and previous foundation of international cooperation was weakened considerably at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the Earth Summit did move forward with a Climate Convention and Biological Diversity Convention, there was opposition to both. The Forest Convention was watered down to a statement on Forest Principals, the Earth Charter was reduced to a short Rio Declaration, and population was removed from the agenda altogether. Despite these setbacks, Agenda 21 was put in place as a global blueprint to move the world to sustainable practices and governance.

Fast forward to 20 years later to 2010, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Scientists have now identified limits to the Earth's systems. In an article in Nature, Johan Rocstrom and his co-authors argue that to avoid catastrophic environmental change, humanity must stay within defined planetary boundaries. If one boundary is transgressed, then safe levels for other processes could also be under serious risk. The planetary boundaries include: climate change, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol loading, chemical pollution, land system changes, ozone depletion, overload of phosphorus and nitrates, and decreasing fresh water resources.

While the problems are more serious, needing more urgent attention, with more serious consequences, we no longer have the global community acting together to work toward solutions. Republicans have chosen to discard science in favor of corporate economic interests and protecting the wealthy. Further attempts are being made to divide business and labor, and wealth is increasingly being transferred to the wealthy at the expense of the poor, elderly, disabled, and the environment.

That was then. Now is Earth Day 2011

In a strange metaphor, Earth Day this year falls on Good Friday as if we are being reminded that the Earth is being crucified by the collective actions of humanity.

We are reminded, though, Good Friday is followed by Easter, a day set in the Christian Calendar by the cycles of nature, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

There are many signs of hope that it is not too late to change direction to one of greater international cooperation and sustainability.

Some positive Earth Day signs of hope include:

• The Earth Day Network, now has 22,000 partners in 192 countries promoting green education, a green economy, and this year has adopted as its theme, "A Billion Acts of Green".

• The United Nations has now declared April 22nd as International Mother Earth Day and the issues of Rights of the Earth are once again being discussed.

• Tourism, the largest industry in the world, now has a Global Sustainable Tourism Council with a criteria for the tourist industry from around the world to operate more sustainably. This initiative came from a coalition of the United Nations Environment Programme, The U.N. Foundation, the U.N. World Tourism Council, and the Rainforest Alliance.

• Large corporations are working to become more "Green" and providing the public with more "Green Messaging". As an example, the Walt Disney Company deliberately opened the Animal Kingdom in 1998 on Earth Day. From the beginning they brought conservation messages and environmental education to its attractions at the theme park. Each year The Animal Kingdom celebrates Earth Day with many activities for both the young and old at heart. The underlying theme of the park is conservation and preservation, and is based on a quote by Walt Disney, "I have learned from the animal world, and what everyone will learn who studies it is, a renewed sense of kinship with the earth and all its inhabitants." More recently, the Walt Disney Company launched the DisneyNature program, releasing a new film each Earth Day. To date the Earth Day releases have included the films, "Earth" in 2009, "Oceans" in 2010, and "African Big Cats" in 2011. "Penguins" is scheduled for Earth Day 2012 and "Hidden Beauty: A Love Story that Feeds the Earth" is scheduled for release in 2013.

• California Lutheran University, where Dave led the first Earth Day Celebration in 1970 and where Reese currently lectures, will have a week-long celebration of Earth Day. Activities will include: a new online pledge that all faculty, staff, and students are being encouraged to complete, a promotion for using local and organic food, a water conservation display, an acoustic music concert (no electricity), giving reusable water bottles to students, installation of new sustainable water fountains where water bottles can be filled up and the fountains will count and display the number of refills, disposable bottles saved from landfills, and a blessing of bikes, skateboards, and feet for alternative transportation by campus pastors.


While Cal Lutheran continues the Earth Day tradition now beginning this 5th decade of Earth Days since its 1970 program, it is working year round for a sustainable campus. Its current plan calls for a path forward to become climate neutral, improve on its energy, transportation, waste, water systems, implement sustainable procurement plans, improve buildings and landscaping, and enhance the environmental curriculum of the college.

Cal Lutheran seems to be on a path where Earth Day is every day, a path we encourage the global community to join.

It was the collaboration of Republicans and Democrats, business and labor, farmers, and city dwellers, and education from colleges and universities that helped translate the first Earth Day into meaningful public policy.

This cooperative problem solving approach is needed again to face the challenges of the planetary boundaries so all humanity can live more sustainably and respect nature.


Dr. David Randle is President & CEO of the WHALE Center. Dr. Reese Halter is an Earth Doctor; Science Communicator: Voice for Ecology, conservation biologist at Cal Lu University and public speaker. Contact through www.DrReese.com

Dave's 88-year-old father has been involved in the space program most of his career. We have always been interested and supportive of the space program and the benefits that it has brought to all humankind. When Dave served as John Denver's environmental and political advisor, support for the space program was one of his top six priorities.

Recently, at the Kennedy Space Center, Dave picked up an Apollo 13 hat for his dad. It had the wording, "Failure is not an Option". The hat seemed fitting as his dad had been told a couple years ago that he had only three days to live. He didn't accept the prognosis and sought other treatment. For him failure was not an option so the hat seemed quite fitting for him to wear in the event he has to go to the hospital again.

Recently we heard a podcast where the NASA Space program was used as a metaphor for how we might better respond to critical environmental issues of our time.

This naturally caught our attention.

The story begins with the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. This was the mission where Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon. The landing for this mission was tense and uncertain but they made it. The famous words were spoken by Neil Armstrong: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The Apollo 12 mission then followed with a second successful mission to the moon.

The astronauts were able to land much easier this time, spend more time on the moon, and gained more knowledge, skills, and furthered the NASA Apollo project.

Apollo 13 began its journey to the moon with the goal of further gains. Once again the launch was successful. Before the crew could land on the moon an explosion crippled the service module. The famous words were then relayed, "Houston, we have a problem".

At first there was disbelief in Houston; the thinking was that some technical glitch was probably just giving false information. 15 full minutes past before Mission Control in Houston realized this was now a critical life and death crisis.

At that point the Apollo 13 mission was abandoned and the new mission was survival. The astronauts had to shift their priorities to the all out task of making the space craft life sustaining until they could return to Earth. This meant they needed to conserve water, get the carbon dioxide out of the air they were breathing, conserve the energy from the batteries, conserve the air needed for the last hours of the journey, learn how to adapt to uncomfortable temperature changes, conserve the limited potable water, and find ways to use the resources of the lunar module not for exploration but as a lifeboat for their survival.

Despite the great challenge and uncertainty of the return voyage, failure to both Mission Control and the astronauts was not an option.

With Mission Control putting all their focus on a new mission, and the courage and support for each other among the astronauts, all were brought home safely to what NASA called a "successful failure".

Our state of planet Earth continues to become more perilous as we are fast approaching and in some cases have already surpassed the planetary boundaries for sustainability.

Today, we are threatened with many challenges that science has labeled our planetary boundaries. In an article in Nature, Johan Rocstrom and his co-authors argue that to avoid catastrophic environmental change, humanity must stay within defined planetary boundaries. If one boundary is transgressed, then safe levels for other processes could also be under serious risk. The planetary boundaries include: climate change, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol loading, chemical pollution, land system changes, ozone depletion, overload of phosphorus and nitrates, and decreasing fresh water resources.

Just as the Apollo 13 mission aborted its original goals and its passengers focused on their own survival boundaries, crew aboard Spaceship Earth are being called to change their mission in order to live within our planetary boundaries. There is a need to abort the mission of business as usual to a new mission of creating a sustainable planet that functions within the limits of the planetary boundaries.

Like the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 this will mean using our resources more creatively, making sure our air is clean without to much ozone or carbon emissions, that there is potable drinking water for all, that chemicals don't contaminate the space ships water and food supply, and all passengers are able to be able to have the basic survival needs to complete the journey.

Like the 15 minute pause in Houston where there was disbelief that the Apollo space craft was in trouble despite the warning signs, there has been the same kind of disbelief among many that Spaceship Earth is in trouble.

The question now is: Will enough people on Spaceship Earth realize that we have already exceeded some of the planetary boundaries and are dangerously close to exceeding others? Like the Apollo astronauts we need to change our mission.

There are some important lessons that we can learn from the Apollo 13 experience including:

The importance of creating a shared vision among the crew members of Spaceship Earth. In the Apollo 13 story, Mission Control set a new mission that failure was not an option and Apollo Commander James Lovell let the other crew members know "I intend to go home". This new shared vision created a context for better solving the problems. Creating a shared vision for a sustainable planet where people live within the planetary boundaries may be half the battle.

Creating a sense of community around the vision is also important for success. We learn from the Apollo 13 story that conflict over the best approaches to take was greatly reduced once everyone agreed to work toward the same vision. The team focused on innovation and creativity to jointly solve the problems as opposed to focusing on different approaches. Commander Lovell observed that: "Thousands of people worked to bring us back home." The more individuals and groups we can get to work on a shared vision the stronger sense of a global community will form to achieve the goals.

Developing a positive culture for change helps achieve success. Gene Kranz, Flight Director of Apollo 13, said to his co-workers: "work the problem", meaning do the research to find the solutions. In solving the Apollo 13 challenges, the team put priority on the need for technical proficiency and getting the facts. When the explosion happened, one of the first questions was, "what do we have on the space craft that is good?" The team also made sure that everyone was getting the information they needed. Kranz created a positive culture for solving the problems.

Scientists from around the world have sounded the alarm. Many in government, higher education, NGO's, and business sectors have started to respond. Some encouraging examples include:

In government, the United Nations Environment Programme is in the process of completing it's 5th Global Outlook Report (GEO-5), a process that engages scientists from around the world to detail the needs of the planet and set an agenda for what needs to be done. The warnings of the last report, GEO-4, have been largely ignored.

The U.N. Academic Impact, a global initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in support of sustainability, human rights, literacy, and conflict resolution now has over 500 participating institutions. Each of the participating institutions makes a commitment to at least one project each year based on the program's principles.

NGO's such as the International Union of Conservation and Nature, have brought together over 1000 NGO's and 11,000 scientists to work on issues such as biodiversity, climate change, sustainable energy, human well-being, and a green economy.

Corporations are becoming more sustainable in their practices. In the recent Newsweek Green Rankings of the 500 Largest U.S. Corporations, 51 had environmental performance rankings above 90 on a scale of 0 to 100. Of the Global 100 Corporations, ten percent also scored 90 or higher as well. One of the companies that was both a national and global leader in the rankings is the Walt Disney Co. The Walt Disney Co. was ranked #11 in environmental performance, #2 nationally in environmental performance in its category of Media, Travel, and Leisure, and #1 in this category globally. One of the unique things about the Walt Disney Co. is that it has proactively set ambitious goals related to each of the 9 planetary boundaries. It is fast becoming model for others to follow. For example it has set goals of reducing its carbon emissions by 50% by 2012 from 2006 levels and then becoming a net-zero carbon company thereafter. It has also set a goal to reduce its solid waste 50% by 2013 and becoming a net zero waste company thereafter.


To bring back the Apollo 13 crew safely, it took the cooperation of mission control, the astronauts, and many supporting scientists and other experts to use the ship's resources wisely.

Imagine if there was a coordinated effort of uncompromising integrity between governments, institutions of higher education, NGO's, and corporations. Imagine if they all worked together with a shared vision to have Spaceship Earth return to operation within safe planetary boundaries.

The simple truth is that like the Apollo 13 team, it will take bold leadership willing to acknowledge that we have serious problems on planet Earth, are willing to work to create a shared vision, sense of community, a positive culture that is committed to success, and that they really get it, that failure is not an option.

Dr. David Randle is President & CEO of the Whale Center. Dr. Reese Halter is an Earth Doctor; Science Communicator: Voice for Ecology, conservation biologist at Cal Lu University and public speaker.

Related Links:

WHALE Center

Waves of Change

Global Healing

Blue Community

Dr. Reese Halter

The Anchorage Declaration

24 April 2009

From 20 – 24 April 2009, Indigenous representatives from the Arctic, North America,

Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Africa, Caribbean and Russia met in Anchorage, Alaska for

the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change. We thank the Ahtna and the

Dena’ina Athabascan Peoples in whose lands we gathered.

We express our solidarity as Indigenous Peoples living in areas that are the most

vulnerable to the impacts and root causes of climate change. We reaffirm the unbreakable

and sacred connection between land, air, water, oceans, forests, sea ice, plants, animals

and our human communities as the material and spiritual basis for our existence.

We are deeply alarmed by the accelerating climate devastation brought about by

unsustainable development. We are experiencing profound and disproportionate adverse

impacts on our cultures, human and environmental health, human rights, well-being,

traditional livelihoods, food systems and food sovereignty, local infrastructure, economic

viability, and our very survival as Indigenous Peoples.

Mother Earth is no longer in a period of climate change, but in climate crisis. We

therefore insist on an immediate end to the destruction and desecration of the elements of

life.

Through our knowledge, spirituality, sciences, practices, experiences and relationships

with our traditional lands, territories, waters, air, forests, oceans, sea ice, other natural

resources, and all life, Indigenous Peoples have a vital role in defending and healing

Mother Earth. The future of Indigenous Peoples lies in the wisdom of our elders, the

restoration of the sacred position of women, the youth of today and in the generations of

tomorrow.

We uphold that the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples, affirmed by the United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), must be fully respected in

all decision-making processes and activities related to climate change. This includes our

rights to our lands, territories, environment and natural resources as contained in Articles

25–30 of the UNDRIP. When specific programs and projects affect them, the right to

self-determination of Indigenous Peoples must be respected, emphasizing our right to

Free Prior and Informed Consent, including the right to say “no”. The United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreements and principles must

reflect the spirit of the UNDRIP.

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Calls for Action

1. In order to achieve the fundamental objective of the UNFCCC, we call upon the

fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to support a binding

emissions reduction target for developed countries (Annex 1) of at least 45% below 1990

levels by 2020 and at least 95% by 2050. In recognizing the root causes of climate

change, participants call upon states to work towards decreasing dependency on fossil

fuels. We further call for a just transition to decentralized renewable energy economies,

sources and systems owned and controlled by our local communities, to achieve energy

security and sovereignty.

In addition, the Summit participants agreed to present two options for action: some

supported option A and some option B. These are as follows:

A. We call on the phase out of fossil fuel development and a moratorium on new

fossil fuel developments on or near Indigenous lands and territories.

B. We call for a process that works towards the eventual phase out of fossil fuels,

without infringing on the right to development of Indigenous nations.

2. We call upon the Parties to the UNFCCC to recognize the importance of our

Traditional Knowledge and practices shared by Indigenous Peoples in developing

strategies to address climate change. To address climate change we also call on the

UNFCCC to recognize the historical and ecological debt of the Annex 1 countries in

contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and we call on these countries to pay this

historical debt.

3. We call on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Millennium

Ecosystem Assessment, and other relevant institutions to support Indigenous Peoples in

carrying out Indigenous Peoples’ climate change assessments.

4. We call upon the UNFCCC’s decision-making bodies to establish formal structures

and mechanisms for and with the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples.

Specifically we recommend that the UNFCCC:

a. Organize regular Technical Briefings by Indigenous Peoples on Traditional

Knowledge and climate change;

b. Recognize and engage the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate

Change and its regional focal points in an advisory role;

c. Immediately establish an Indigenous focal point in the secretariat of the UNFCCC;

d. Appoint Indigenous Peoples’ representatives in UNFCCC funding mechanisms in

consultation with Indigenous Peoples; and

e. Take the necessary measures to ensure the full and effective participation of

Indigenous and local communities in formulating, implementing, and monitoring

activities, mitigation, and adaptation to impacts of climate change.

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5. All initiatives under Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)

must secure the recognition and implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples,

including security of land tenure, recognition of land title according to traditional ways,

uses and customary laws and the multiple benefits of forests for climate, ecosystems, and

peoples before taking any action.

6. We challenge States to abandon false solutions to climate change that negatively

impact Indigenous Peoples’ rights, lands, air, oceans, forests, territories and waters.

These include nuclear energy, large-scale dams, geo-engineering techniques, “clean

coal”, agro-fuels, plantations, and market based mechanisms such as carbon trading, the

Clean Development Mechanism, and forest offsets. The rights of Indigenous Peoples to

protect our forests and forest livelihoods must be ensured.

7. We call for adequate and direct funding in developed and developing States and for a

fund to be created to enable Indigenous Peoples’ full and effective participation in all

climate processes, including adaptation, mitigation, monitoring, and transfer of

appropriate technologies, in order to foster our empowerment, capacity building, and

education. We strongly urge relevant United Nations bodies to facilitate and fund the

participation, education, and capacity building of Indigenous youth and women to ensure

engagement in all international and national processes related to climate change.

8. We call on financial institutions to provide risk insurance for Indigenous Peoples to

allow them to recover from extreme weather events.

9. We call upon all United Nations agencies to address climate change impacts in their

strategies and action plans, in particular their impacts on Indigenous Peoples, including

the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous

Issues (UNPFII), etc. We call upon all the United Nations Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) and other relevant United Nations bodies to establish an Indigenous

Peoples’ working group to address the impacts of climate change on food security and

food sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples.

10. We call on United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to conduct a fast track

assessment of short-term drivers of climate change, specifically black carbon, with a view

to initiating negotiation of an international agreement to reduce emission of black carbon.

11. We call on States to recognize and implement the fundamental human rights and

status of Indigenous Peoples, including the collective rights to traditional ownership, use,

access, occupancy and title to traditional lands, air, forests, waters, oceans, sea ice and

sacred sites as well as the rights affirmed in treaties are upheld and recognized in land use

planning and climate change mitigation strategies. In particular, States must ensure that

Indigenous Peoples have the right to mobility and are not forcibly removed or settled

away from their traditional lands and territories, and that the rights of peoples in

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voluntary isolation are upheld. In the case of climate change migrants, appropriate

programs and measures must address their rights and vulnerabilities.

12. We call upon States to return and restore lands, territories, waters, forests, oceans, sea

ice and sacred sites that have been taken from Indigenous Peoples and have limited our

access to our traditional ways of living, thereby causing us to misuse and expose our

lands to climate conditions that contribute to climate change.

13. In order to provide the resources necessary for our collective survival in response to

the climate crisis, we declare our communities, waters, air, forests, oceans, sea ice,

traditional lands and territories to be “Food Sovereignty Areas,” defined and directed by

Indigenous Peoples according to customary laws, and free from chemical-based industrial

food production systems extractive industries (i.e. contaminants, agro-fuels, genetically

modified organisms, and deforestation).

14. We encourage our communities to exchange information while ensuring the

protection and respect of intellectual property rights at the local, national and

international levels pertaining to our Traditional Knowledge, innovations, and practices.

These include land, water, and sea ice use, traditional agriculture, forest management,

ancestral seeds, pastoralism, food plants and animals, medicines, which are essential in

developing climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, restoring our food

sovereignty and food independence, and strengthening our Indigenous families and

nations.

We offer to share with humanity our Traditional Knowledge, innovations, and practices

relevant to climate change, provided our fundamental rights as intergenerational

guardians of this knowledge are fully recognized and respected. We reiterate the urgent

need for collective action.

Approved by consensus of the participants

Anchorage, Alaska, 24 April 2009