As Earth Day rolls around again, there are historic concerns about our environment still to be solved and new concerns we hadn’t even anticipated back at the first event in 1970.  

Old environmental issues are still with us including Climate Change. Climate Change has brought some very inconvenient facts and sense of great urgency to Earth Day. One of the most dramatic moments in the efforts to communicate Climate Change was the ‘hockey stick’ graph authored by Dr. Michael Mann and some colleagues demonstrating a major spike in greenhouse gases in the 20th century. Check out this 20-year update by Dr. Mann:

Earth Day and the Hockey Stick: A Singular Message On the 20th anniversary of the graph that galvanized climate action, it is time to speak out boldly Two decades ago this week a pair of colleagues and I published the original “hockey stick” graph in Nature, which happened to coincide with the Earth Day 1998 observances. The graph showed Earth’s temperature, relatively stable for 500 years, had spiked upward during the 20th century. A year later we would extend the graph back in time to A.D. 1000, demonstrating this rise was unprecedented over at least the past millennium—as far back as we could go with the data we had. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, publishing the hockey stick would change my life in a fundamental way. I was thrust suddenly into the spotlight. Nearly every major newspaper and television news network covered our study. The widespread attention was exhilarating, if not intimidating for a science nerd with little or no experience—or frankly, inclination at the time—in communicating with the public. (April 20, 2018) Scientific America [more on Climate Change in our area]

What’s new this Earth Day is the scale of the Plastic Pollution problem. When you think we didn’t even have plastics until the 1960’s, it’s amazing that a little annoyance a few decades ago has mushroomed into a major world environmental problem today. Check this out:

It's a plastic planet  Plastics are everywhere. They're used to make everything from grocery bags and clothing to medical devices and military body armor. And there are reasons for its popularity. Plastics are comparatively inexpensive to make and work with, they're durable, they resist harsh chemicals, and they're lighter than other materials. But the more pervasive they've become, the more troublesome they've become. A boom in single-use and disposable plastic products has given way to plastic pollution. Bottles line roadsides, shopping bags flap around in trees, and cigarette butts litter beaches, parks, and sidewalks. And scientists have found concentrations of tiny plastic particles — microplastics and nanoplastics – in all of the Great Lakes and in the deepest reaches of the world's largest oceans. Teams led by SUNY Fredonia chemistry professor Sam Mason have also found microplastics in tap and bottled water samples from across the world. (April 18, 2018) Rochester City Newspaper [more on Recycling in our area]

Earth Day is a reminder that only humanity can and therefore should take stewardship of our life support system. We need to continue to fix old environmental problems and understand that now Climate Change has taken top priority, where all our issues (not just environmental issues) must be addressed through the lens of Climate Change. In Rochester there are many events this Earth Day. 

They are all meaningful and attempt to get at the myriad local environment issues that are ultimately linked to this existential crisis coming at us. [Existential? Check out this burning article by Mark Dunlea, Green Education and Legal Fund about the need to march in Albany on the 23rd: “Why I am doing Climate Civil Disobedience this Earth day” from 100% Renewable Now NY Campaign.]

There’s a new kind of Earth Day event for Rochester focusing on land use for Climate Change solutions: Earth Day Celebration! “This Land is Our Land” on Parcel 5 with the efforts of a local coalition called OurLandROC:

Our Land Roc is a coalition of community groups and local residents seeking to cultivate a more equitable, sustainable, and collaborative approach to development in the City of Rochester. We identify and advocate for land use practices that promote the long-term health and stability of our communities, rather than policies that privilege a few. We seek permanently affordable, sustainable development in our neighborhoods. (Posted April 16th, 2018 Earth Day Celebration! “This Land is Our Land” on Parcel 5)

The demands: 1. Community Land Trust 2. Participatory Budgeting 3. Inclusionary Zoning 4. Community Benefits Agreement 5. Adequate Notification of all development proposals  

Six evaluation criteria: 1. Benefit to all 2. Mitigate and adapt to climate change 3. Investment without displacement 4. Increased transparency 5. Addresses root causes not just transparency 6. Socially equable ecologically sound and equally to all

Want to learn more? Come on down Sunday, Parcel 5 275 E. Main St., Rochester, New York ask. Check these Twitter hashtags if you cannot make the event: #OurLandRoc #RocEarthDay
April 22 at 3 PM - 5 PM |

Back in January, I provided a brief overview on how Climate Change could be addressed locally through land use policies: “Addressing Climate Change via land use issues” Check it out and then fill out the City’s survey for its Comprehensive Plan, Rochester 2034 using what you learned.

With good Climate Change plans and actions, maybe we’ll have more hopeful Earth Days ahead.

Time passes.

* Update: Check out a short video of this event.