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The height of hippie and flower-child culture
in the United States ,
1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon &
Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Protest was the order of the day, but
saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam , and students nationwide
increasingly opposed it.
At the time, Americans were slurping leaded
gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with
little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly
accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared
more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
Although mainstreamAmerica
remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change
by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring
in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment for the modern
environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and,
up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms. Carson raised public
awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and public health.
Although mainstream
Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging
consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and
putting environmental concerns front and center.
Do Something Today for
the Earth!
Happy Earth Day!