APRIL 18, 2025 CREATIVE GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 EARTH DAY from page 6 of climate goals, and the Conference of Parties schedule annual objectives and dialogues to discuss climate actions. The 2025 COP meeting will be in Brazil. It is noteworthy that the first COP meeting which the UNFCCC arranged took place in Berlin in 1995, an indication that the UN was taking climate change seriously early on. The UN acted to involve a lot of nations in what they regarded as a serious threat. Since then, young Americans and young people all over the world such as Greta Thunberg of Sweden led peaceful protests and demonstrations to save the Planet Earth. The Michigan Connection to Earth Day It is almost impossible to tell the story of Earth Day and the modern environmental movement without mentioning the local connection. It is fair to say that the founding fathers and founding mothers of Earth Day have their roots planted at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The U-M teach-in event in March 1970 was the precursor to the April Earth Day events. Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, as well as Michigan’s Republican Governor William Milliken, attended. As we mark the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, let us take some time to remember those young students of 1970, now older adults, who as members of U-M’s Environmental Action for Survival mobilized their peers on campus to join them to raise awareness about saving our Planet Earth. They held that first teach-in for the environment in March 1970, before Gaylord Nelson called for a nationwide teach-in at US college campuses on April 22, 1970. On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability invited some of the students (four males and two females) to tell their stories about Earth Day and their participation in the movement — way back in 1970. The title of the public lecture was: “Environmental Action for Survival: The History and Legacies of U-M’s 1970 Teach-In on the Environment.” During the public lecture, they shared their story of activism and determination to raise the level of consciousness of the American public to the dangers and risks of inaction. They wanted public decision-makers to hear their voice and take actions to save lives, protect the environment and safeguard public health. A display at the 50th anniversary reunion in 2020 noted, “... Environmental Action for Survival (ENACT) organized a fourday environmental teach-in at the University of Michigan, the precursor of the national Earth Day event that drew 20 million people on April 22, 1970. (See photo on page 7 of ENACT members and the round poster which they displayed. The poster said, “GIVE EARTH A CHANCE.”) Conclusion Earth Day is a major event in many countries across the globe. There are always large crowds in cities and towns, especially college towns. At the University of Michigan campus there will be many events planned and scheduled. On March 25, 2024, the University First Earth Day in the Diag. International Institute for Sustainbility and Development Record magazine carried a front-page headline, “Earth Month puts focus on U-M sustainability efforts.” Sustainability communication writer Adam Fisher wrote, “U-M is marking late March and all of April with a series of events focused on sustainability and climate action, continuing a tradition that began with the first 'Teach-in on the environment' in 1970 — which grew into what is now known as Earth Day.” The events of 2024 included the following topics: Climate Vulnerability and Health Symposium; U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland on Environmental Justice and Confronting Climate Crisis; Water at Michigan Symposium; and Leadership for Turning Climate Anxiety into Action. The spirit of bipartisanship and consensus about protecting the earth as reflected in the April 22, 1970, event seems to have been waning. Some branches of the federal government and state governments have been challenging the benefits of environmental protection. We must be vigilant. Let’s keep our planet safe. PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
12 Publizr Home