Earth Day

In 1970 the first Earth Day was celebrated. Then in 2016 the Paris Agreement was signed to combat global climate change. We are moving forward but often it takes time to make changes. Fortunately we are past the land rush days of 1889 where thousands rushed to claim land, newly “liberated” from tribal hands, in Oklahoma – to establish the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie with at least 10,000 residents. And the UK, Japan, and the US signed the London Naval Treaty to regulate submarine warfare and limit shipbuilding in 1930 – a decade would show how much impact that would have 🙁

We have come far from the WWI days (1915) when chlorine gas was released as a chemical weapon at the Second Battle of Ypres, but then in 1992 a series of gas explosions ripped through the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206. We have to do better.

Joining us on the worlds’ stage on this date were :English novelist and playwright Henry Fielding (1707), German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724), Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870), and American scientist and “father of the atomic bomb” J Robert Oppenheimer (1904). We welcomed in the musical talents of American-Swiss violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin (1916) and country crooner Glen Campbell (1936), and rocker Peter Frampton (1950).

We bid farewell to a quartet of standout individuals, known for various reasons. Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (1616 Don Quixote) quit titling at windmills; American photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams (1984) captured his last nature photo. Richard Nixon (1994) finally went away. And funny lady Erma Bombeck (1996) wrote her last “we can all relate” humor line.

Celebrate Earth Day, every day!