Earth Day 2024 and the Environmental Challenges Posed by Plastics
Today marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, an annual event that originated in 1970 through the collaboration of Democratic U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and Republican U.S. Representative Pete McCloskey of California.
The “history” section of the Earth Day website highlights the disparities between that era and the present, such as the influence of the anti-Vietnam War movement on the event. However, it also underscores the commonalities between the two periods, specifically the concerns regarding pollution, wildlife extinction, and the well-being of future generations.
According to the website, Senator Nelson, inspired by the activism of students during the anti-war movement, sought to merge their fervor with the increasing public awareness of air and water pollution. He unveiled the concept of a teach-in on college campuses to the media and enlisted the support of Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman.
Denis Hayes, a young activist, was recruited by Nelson to organize the campus teach-ins. Together, they broadened the scope of the idea to encompass a wider audience, ultimately choosing April 22 as the date, strategically positioned between Spring Break and Final Exams to maximize student participation.
Under Hayes’ leadership alongside his team, the movement gained substantial traction. By April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans, constituting 10% of the nation’s population at the time, participated in demonstrations nationwide to protest the adverse impacts of industrial development on human health.
Furthermore, the inaugural Earth Day swiftly influenced national policies in Washington. Serving as President at the time, Republican Richard Nixon is credited with implementing progressive changes:
“By the conclusion of 1970, the first Earth Day prompted the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the enactment of other groundbreaking environmental laws such as the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Congress subsequently passed the Clean Water Act two years later.”
As we commemorate Earth Day 2024, the magnitude of environmental degradation has escalated significantly compared to 1970. The present generation confronts challenges such as the climate emergency, extreme weather phenomena, rising sea levels, desertification, species extinction, water and air pollution, as well as the proliferation of hazardous chemicals like PFAS.
The 2024 Earth Day website highlights a pressing issue, namely the problem of plastics and the global “60X40 movement.” This movement aims to curtail global plastic production by 60% by 2040. Here are several noteworthy facts:
– Since its introduction in 1950, a staggering 9.1 billion tons of plastic have been manufactured.
– Regrettably, 79% of all plastic ever produced ends up in landfills or the natural environment.
– Americans alone purchase approximately 50 billion plastic water bottles annually, amounting to roughly 156 bottles per person.- Approximately 5 trillion plastic bags are used annually on a global scale.
– In the United States, a staggering 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups are disposed of each year.
– Every year, a massive amount of roughly 14 million tons of plastic, a significant portion of which takes the form of hazardous microplastics, make their way into the Earth’s oceans.
– It is currently estimated that between 75 to 199 million tons of plastic are present in the world’s oceans.
– Experts predict that by the year 2050, the weight of accumulated plastic in the oceans will exceed the combined weight of all fish.
– Astoundingly, the average American ingests over 70,000 microplastic particles annually through their drinking water.
– On land, terrestrial microplastic pollution is up to 23 times more prominent than marine plastic pollution, contaminating the soil, waterways, and infiltrating the food chain when consumed accidentally by animals.
– Biologically-active slow sand filters, utilized in select water treatment plants, demonstrate an approximate efficiency of 99.9% in the removal of microplastics from drinking water.
– By the year 2040, there is potential to curtail the influx of plastic into the oceans by 80% through the implementation of existing methods aimed at reducing the utilization of single-use plastics and embracing environmentally-friendly alternatives.
News Source:ncnewsline