Earth Day ~ Is There Hope?

It’s usually around the second half of February that I start to notice plants starting to sprout along the trails. By March, bloodroot and spring beauty start to cover the forest floor in the Metroparks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. But, I don’t really think spring until April.

Despite the showers, temperatures are, for the most part milder, and walks are more enjoyable. You can see life renewing as the forest awakens from its’ winter nap. It’s easy to feel optimistic about the days ahead.

April 22 marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement. Earth Day is celebrated in 193 countries and Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River was the impetus behind it’s establishment.

Raw sewage, garbage, rats and the toxic by-products of the various businesses and factories around it floated on it’s surface and littered it’s banks. Fires had been breaking out on the Cuyahoga approximately once every ten years since the 1860s.

It was a relatively small fire in 1969 that would change history. The fire was first reported by local news and then picked up by national media. Time Magazine ran the story along with photos of the river ablaze, America’s pollution problem could no longer be ignored.

A growing group of environmentally aware people used the coverage of the fire to promote that awareness to others around the globe. Around the U.S., people began to look at their rivers with shame, something had to change. The people spoke and the government responded.

In 1970, the Water Quality Improvment Act, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with Canada, the Clean Water Act and the creation of state and federal environmental protection agencies were formed. That small fire was also a major inspiration for the first Earth Day.

Prior to 1970, there were no regulations or legislature to stop anyone from dumping garbage, sewage or toxins into the water we drink or the air we breathe. That spring twenty million Americans demonstrated in cities across the nation.

Environmental awareness was around long before then, but was never percieved as a mainstream issue by our legislators. The E.P.A. was formed in December 1970 by lawmakers as a response to that call for action by the American public.

During the next few years, Congress passed several legislative measures giving the E.P.A. the authority to establish national pollution standards and the ability to enforce them. As a result, according to agency data, automobile emissions of common pollutants have been reduced 99%. Lead levels in children have dropped from 88% to 3%.

The number of U.S. waters that meet federal water goals has doubled since 1972. The E.P.A. would never have been established had it not been for public demand. The first administrator of the E.P.A., William Ruckelshaus, said: “Public opinion remains absolutely essential for anything to be done on behalf of the ennvironment.”

The current administration in it’s first term quietly scaled back regulations for fuel efficiency in cars and trucks, air pollution standards from power plants, water pollution in permits and liquified natural gas development.

This time they’re not being quiet about it. Trump’s E.P.A. is undermining many of the regulations that have been proven to work slowing climate change.

The Endangerment Finding

In February of this year, a scientific finding that was the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was revoked. In 2009, a government declaration known as the endangerment finding became the basis for nearly all climate regulations under the Clean Air Act. This repeal by the administration eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could be a way to eliminate climate regulations on other industry, as well as power plants and oil and gas facilities.

Trump called the endangerment finding, “one of the greatest scams in history,” a statement refuted by scientists across the globe. It is no longer a theory, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the driving force behind catastrophic heat waves and storms, droughts and sea level rise.

“This action will only lead to more climate pollution, and that will lead to higher costs and real harms for American families.” Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund added that the repurcussions will be felt on Americans’ health, property values, water supply and more if allowed to stand.

In Texas just four days later, the Department of Homeland Security waived environmental laws to expedite border wall construction in environmentally and culturally sensitive areas. Following Kristi Noem’s waivers, the federal government will no longer have to follow the National Environmental Act, the Clean Water Act, and other federal laws to construct the border wall on thirteen tracts in the national wildlife refuge. In addition to environmental laws, the National Trails System Act, the Historic Preservation Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Reptriation Act will be waived.

There is Hope – Earth Day – April 22, 2026

Paul Rosolie is the founder of Junglekeepers (junglekeepers.org). This organization has provided proof of concept of what it takes to protect over 77,000 aacres of rainforest in the Amazon.

“Our methods work. Within the current boundaries of the reserve we have seen incidents of illegal logging drop by over 90%. Our rangers patrol hundreds of kilometers per year. Within the Junglekeepers protected land, the animals are safe, the ancient trees are safe, and the forest is free to function  as it has for millions of years.”

The Amazon represents over half of the total area of the remaining rainforests on Earth. Forests help regulate the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide as well as providing oxygen and supporting plant and animal life.

When forests are cleared, it leads to more carbon in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Trees are natural carbon sinks, meaning they absorb more carbon than they emit. The Amazon rainforest helps control global rainfall patterns, cool the atmosphere and stabilize temperatures.

Rosolies’s book, Junglekeeper, recounts his journey so far, his passion for the forest and its’ inhabitants, human, plant and animal. Mostly he remains optimistic that the majority of humankind is intelligent enough to see beyond the politics and misinformation of this new war on climate.

Education is not free. Let’s hope we don’t learn the lessons of climate failure before we can unify to repair it. There is hope. Attend an Earth Day event this month, find out what you can do and why it’s up to each of us to do our part.