It is Earth Day, 2009 folks. If my math is correct, this is the 39th year that we have been observing this day.

The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. “The Partridge Family” was asking the world if they were happy. “Jesus Christ Superstar” was trying to figure out “what’s the buzz”. “Love Story” was driving tissue sales through the roof (this is not necessarily a fact but I am thinking it must have been true). And less than one year earlier in Cleveland, Ohio the Cuyahoga River had spontaneously combusted.

Lake Erie was on the verge of being sterilized by the impossibly large amount of pollution floating in its waters. The bald eagle was on the edge of extinction, not necessarily because of excessive hunting or even habitat destruction but largely because of a pesticide, DDT. Sickness and deaths in major cities like New York and Los Angeles were linked directly to air pollution. The planet was in bad shape. So how far have we come since that first Earth Day? I found myself wanting to know if we are making a difference so I did some looking.

Let’s start with the Cuyahoga River. Oddly enough according to Michael Scott of “The Plain Deal Reporter” the fire in 1969 was not the first time that the Cuyahoga had been set ablaze. In fact, as fires on that river went, it was not even a bad one. There were two others, one in 1912 that “killed five dock workers” and one in 1952 that “caused an estimated $1.5 million dollars in damage”. But the fire in 1969 is credited with getting public support behind the Clean Water Act of 1972 which in my estimation is a great thing. It is also credited with being one of the national catalysts behind the first Earth Day.

Since that inaugural Earth Day in 1970, huge improvements have been made to the over all quality of the Cuyahoga. If you like I could list them all but it would take around 121 pages as it did in the “Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan State of the River Report” that was created by The Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan Coordinating Committee. If you want to read it you can go to: Cuyahoga River, state of the river report. Suffice it to say that all of the river quality categories have seen improvement Areas like heavy metals, low dissolved oxygen levels, fecal coliform bacteria and others are all vastly improved. It seems to be working and that is cause #1 for celebration.

DDT was banned in 1972 and there are bald eagles that live within 10 miles of our house. In 1980 there weren’t any in our state, never mind within 10 miles of our house. And we have hawks that live on our property. I hadn’t seen a hawk until I was in my late thirties and now we have them nesting in trees on our property. There are wolves back in Yellowstone. We are seeing Humpback Whales and Southern Right Whales making a comeback: Newscientist.com article: Humpback Whales off endangered species list.

For Air Pollution and associated death rates there is good news as well. In a “New England Journal of Medicine” report on “Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States” written in January of 2009 by, C. Arden Pope, III, Ph.D., Majid Ezzati, Ph.D., and Douglas W. Dockery, Sc.D. it was found that decreases in particulate air pollution has correlated with increased life expectancy in major metropolitan areas: Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States.

So to make a long story short, there is a tremendous amount of evidence that the change in our cultural zeitgeist has made a huge difference in the quality and improvement of our environment. It was important to me to take stock this year and celebrate not just the earth but on our commitment to improve our stewardship of the home we have been gifted with. Yes there is always work to do, but we should also make sure we dance and sing and drink some wine in celebration of the work we have done.

ecomii is a testament to the increasing realization that “the environment” isn’t a political issue; it is a matter of our survival. More than any other issue, including the economy, it is essential we continue to improve the way we live on our planet. So before you head back out to the compost pile or finally get that hybrid car or pull that can out of the trash and put it in the recycling bin, take a minute to pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. Take a minute to smell spring in the air and walk in the woods and celebrate the successes on Earth day.

*A quick side note. Everyone email, and call and write to your senators and representatives. For Earth Day’s fortieth anniversary, let’s make it a national holiday. Nothing is more important to celebrate and appreciate than our planet right? So reach out and let them know that Earth Day should be a recognized holiday.

Click here to learn more about your Carbon Footprint.