“The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity… that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. That’s where all the economic activity and jobs come from. These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world.” — Gaylord Nelson
The words of former Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson, who was born in the rural Polk County community of Clear Lake, have lived through the decades. His words ring most loudly on this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, an event Nelson spearheaded when he and many environmentalists saw the need for people to take better care of Earth.
About 20 million people took part in those initial Earth Day activities, and during the past 50 years the numbers of grown across the globe. Much has happened since then, with the ebbs and flows of environmental consciousness and efforts, with many believing that some improvements have been made — including in the care the land, water and air receives across the rural countryside compared with the environmental conditions in 1970.
The improvements are evident in soil-nutrient management on farms, the return of birds such as bald eagles and kestrels, and the return of aquatic life in streams and rivers that had been deemed dangerous or dead because of pollution. Attention has been given to the contamination of groundwater and to the very air we breathe.
The environmental reach even goes below the soil’s surface, with the ever-growing farm nutrient management programs and the increasing knowledge being gained in the soil’s biological health. Mold-board plows of past generations are being pushed to the back of machine-sheds in favor of more environmentally friendly limited-tillage or no-till planting methods.
Few argue that more can’t be done to improve things on farms and other industries where caring for Earth is concerned.
Nelson’s mortal being went back to the soil in 1995, so he’s not around to judge how well things have gone since he first advocated for a day to recognize the need to care for Earth. But many of his words live on as reminders, including, “our goal is an environment of
decency, quality and mutual respect for all human beings and all living creatures.”
— Scott Schultz
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