Letter: Celebrating Earth Day on the National Mall

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Hula-hoops, hippies, protesters, green groups, PETA and the Flaming Lips defined downtown Washington, D.C., this past Sunday. The annual Earth Day on the Mall celebration was the event of the day for all those embracing a “green” life.

For me, it was an opportunity to spread the message of the organization I currently intern for, The Wilderness Society, at our fancy booth. We handed out free buttons with the phrase: “I Like It Wild!” Needless to say, this generated much enthusiasm from high school students.

But the point of Earth Day on the Mall was not to see how much free stuff you could gather (although that was fun); the point was bringing awareness to global climate change and our need to address the degradation of our environment.

For the past eight years we have had little response to the phenomenon of global climate change, while we continue tearing up our land with oil rigs and investing in dirty fuels. The message on the Mall this weekend called for a new generation that supported carbon-free renewable energy, a ban on offshore drilling and comprehensive legislation that addresses all climate change issues.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) spoke to a crowd numbered in the thousands about his proposed climate bill that would provide for a cap-and-trade tax on carbon emitted by unaccountable utility providers, an investment strategy for wind and solar renewable energy and a funding program to create green jobs. It’s policy like this that will end our dependence on foreign oil, not more drilling in sensitive areas that are on the verge of reaching an ecological point of no return.

What’s next for the “green” revolution? Well, EPA just released its official report acknowledging the harm of greenhouse gas emissions on humans — that’s a first step.

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