Earth Day and March for Science: Notes and Pics

2GreenEnergy super-supporter Cameron Atwood sent me this a few days ago, in advance of Earth Day:

Cameron:  Craig, here’s a letter written to students by Senator Gaylord Nelson for the silver-anniversary Earth Day in 1995:

Forging and maintaining a sustainable society is The Challenge for this and all generations to come. At this point in history, no nation has managed to evolve into a sustainable society. We are all pursuing a self-destructive course of fueling our economies by drawing down our natural capital—that is to say by degrading and depleting our resources base—and counting it on the income side of the ledger. This, obviously, is not a sustainable situation over the long term.

I am optimistic that this generation will have the foresight and the will to begin the task of forging a sustainable society. I urge you to make Earth Day a lifelong pursuit so that future generations may enjoy and pass along the bounties of our land, air and water.

Craig (in a pessimistic mood):  Lots of interesting concepts here. Yes, we need a sustainable approach to resource consumption if our civilization is to survive. Yes, no one has ever gotten anywhere close to achieving that. But this guy’s take is that our young people are going to take us there.

I recall writing that I thought this was realistic.  But I don’t see it now–at least as far as young people in the U.S. are concerned.  Obviously, this is an over-generalization, and there are numerous incredible counter-examples, but they seem to be swallowed up by the exact opposite: mega-consumerism and self indulgence bought by get-rich-quick schemes.  And that’s the smart ones.  The majority just want the NBA playoffs on a big screen and a six-pack.

Cameron: I see the same trends, but I think it’s not a Catch-22 we choose between trying to change settled and staid older adults or somewhat more malleable young adults – those of use who get the urgency must be organized to facilitate the maximum shift in paradigm for all living generations. As I’ve long said, we talk of our parents’ children, we who sit here today.

To say that you’re doing your part toward that end would be an understatement, given your longstanding and excellent advocacy forum. That said, perhaps as a beginning there could be a statement of platform assembled somewhere, with contributions across a spectrum of individuals, behind which a sustainability movement – distributed and organized – could solidify.

Craig (in a better mood):  Thanks.  I’ve been coming to Earth Day forever, normally with my kids in tow, and I’ve never seen anything that remotely resembled yesterday in Santa Barbara (population 89K).  I’m guessing there were 15K people; it was amazing.

Now I fully get that Santa Barbara does not typify the U.S. as a whole, but it’s clear that these sentiments are spreading quickly and broadly.  Smart and decent Americans, of which there are a huge number, and getting far more politically active than they’ve ever been.  You should have seen all those school teachers, college professors, attorneys, and other professionals from every conceivable discipline marching the main drag yesterday.  The crowd was five lanes of traffic wide, and almost a mile long.  Again, for a little city, it was astounding.

People get it. Lots of them. What happens from here will be both dramatic and beautiful.