Earth Day has come a long way since 1970 when the recycling of newspapers and bottles and the pollution of air and water were the top concerns.
Celebrated on April 22 every year, Earth Day today highlights the urgent need to take action against climate change, which is a rise in global temperatures driven mostly by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
Monster heat waves, the drying out of ecosystems and warming oceans are occurring around the globe and affecting Baltimore.
“There has been much more concern about the Earth’s climate, which was not on the radar in 1970,” said Benjamin Hobbs, deputy chair for engineering at the Environmental Health and Engineering Department within the engineering school at Johns Hopkins University.
“Greenhouse gasses, whether from fossil fuels, natural fires or methane from natural gas pipelines and drilling operations, are a definite contributor to the rising temperature around the globe,” he said.
Recycling is still needed, now more than ever. The focus is more on the strategic minerals and rare earth metals — copper, aluminum and lithium — that are essential to solar and wind power, electric cars and other renewable technologies, Hobbs said.
Earth Day and Earth Month (April) raise an awareness of what you can do as an individual.
“We have to make sure that we are recycling batteries and electronics, but there’s definitely a lot we can do about greenhouse gas emissions,” Hobbs says.
In the next 20 to 30 years, the U.S. will transition from an electric power and transportation system based on fossil fuels to one that will be built on electricity, he says.
“The electricity produced by solar, wind or nuclear or geothermal energy will go a long way to helping us reduce the greenhouse gasses and conventional air pollutants that are killing people around the globe.”
Reducing your environmental footprint can make a difference, Hobbs says. Turn off lights when not needed and switch from incandescent bulbs to LED lights. Insulate your home well and convert to induction or electric stoves rather than natural gas stoves.
Recycling aluminum and cardboard boxes is definitely beneficial. Melting down glass and remaking it doesn’t save much energy. Some plastics are recyclable but many wind up in landfills, Hobbs says. Better to use less plastic packaging.
Environmental activism doesn’t stop with getting recyclables to the curb every week. It’s a start, but it’s not going to impact the climate crisis.
“It’s about educating the next generation. It’s also about supporting organizations in Annapolis or Washington, D.C., to increase awareness and support laws that can make a big difference,” Hobbs says.
Some laws have tightened up leaks of natural gas from processing and pipeline transportation. These rules to detect and correct leaks in the whole natural gas system are strongly supported by larger oil and gas companies.
These common sense rules are in danger of being reversed with the Trump administration, Hobbs says. States can step up and implement their own rules, but there’s nothing like applying it to all 50 states, he adds.
The Environmental Defense Fund is responsible for much research and has sponsored a satellite to detect methane leaks.
It’s up to Congress and the administration to come up with cost-effective rules that reduce emissions, Hobbs says. Joining organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund and learning what they are doing will keep you informed.
Writing letters or calling your representatives in Congress works.
“It’s important for us to let folks in Washington know that a majority of us support not just recycling but keeping climate change under control, to ensure the planet is going to be habitable for everybody.”
Green spaces have several benefits for climate change. They reduce and capture carbon emissions, slow and capture stormwater runoff by increasing water infiltration, and decrease air temperatures.
Erika Castillo is the education director for Cylburn Arboretum Friends, which stewards the 211-acre public gardens and woodlands in Baltimore.
“Earth Day gives us a renewed focus on the environment and our role in conservation and care of the planet,” she says.
Cylburn offers access to nature and exposure to outdoor spaces, especially for children in cities. “Kids are no longer as connected with their natural world, so for me that is very pressing for the future of our planet.”
There’s a big push to grow trees and plants that will provide food and habitat for wildlife.
“By doing that we can preserve species that might otherwise be at risk. We are providing our residents with an oasis, a place to spend time and connect to the gardens and the woodland beauty,” Castillo says.
Cylburn plants natives and removes invasive plants. The grounds contain flowers for pollinators. “It’s both an ecological space and a beautiful space,” Castillo says.
Communities that have been historically discriminated against feel the effects of climate change the most. Local neighborhoods are suffering due to rising temperatures. “We have areas in Baltimore where there is huge amounts of heat trapped in the city due to high levels of asphalt,” she says.
Extreme weather has caused flooding in Ellicott City and in southwest Baltimore.
Forests cover nearly 31 per cent of the world and are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. Biodiversity stabilizes an ecosystem in a forest. “I don’t think people realize that sometimes you lose one species and the ones relying on that species become threatened or extinct,” Castillo says.
There are simple actions people can take to tackle climate change. “If you have any green space, plant something for wildlife. Even if you have just a front stoop or balcony,” Castillo says.
Another measure is to eat food that you grow yourself or is grown nearby. “The cost and environmental impact of shipping food is high.”
Every person needs to advocate for the world they live in. “We hope that the environment and conservation stay at the forefront of conversation regardless of city, state and national politics,” Castillo says.