Rock and Roll Saved My Soul

THE FIRST EARTH DAY Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. As we prepare to mark 50 years of Earth Day in 2020, let’s take a look at the last half-century of mobilization for action: ORIGINS OF EARTH DAY Earth Day 1970 gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet —  In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences from either the law or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Until this point, mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment threatens human health. However, the stage was set for change with the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. T...

Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Setting the stage for the first earth day: The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” War raged in Vietnam and students nationwide overwhelmingly opposed it. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. Although mainstream America largely remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more...