Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991 TAG: 9104040533
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nelson, now counselor to The Wilderness Society, was present at the creation: He helped found Earth Day in 1970.
That's when the environmental movement was new, but gaining momentum. It would lead to a series of laws and new government agencies establishing the public's interest in clean water, clean air, responsible disposal of toxins and other wastes, and related actions to keep the planet healthy.
Nelson's presence as keynote speaker - actually, one day before Earth Day's 21st anniversary - is a coup for the Roanoke Valley's celebration. (It was engineered by Rupert Cutler, director of the Explore Project's Lewis and Clark Environmental Education Center and a prominent environmentalist in his own right.)
The city's Department of Parks and Recreation is sponsoring the event, organized by Explore, the Clean Valley Council, Plowshare Peace Center, Roanoke Environmental Alliance for our Children's Heritage, and the state Department of Forestry.
The focus will be on local environmental issues and updating global concerns. If listening to speeches isn't your thing, there will be educational displays, live entertainment, natural-foods vendors and games for children.
Southwest Virginia has ample reason to welcome Nelson. Before environmentalism became everyone's cause, Nelson - as a freshman U.S. senator from Wisconsin - sponsored the 1964 Wilderness Act that has allowed protection of a number of scenic areas in this lovely, mountainous region of Virginia. He also introduced legislation to preserve the Appalachian Trail and to establish a national system of hiking trails.
Nelson sees the public's sensitivity to environmental issues steadily increasing. "There are more people who care each year and they know far more than people used to know," he said not long ago.
Those words carry a challenge to others. It's our Earth, and keeping it clean and livable is up to all of us. Roanoke Valley residents, whether or not they participate in Earth Day events and hear Nelson's message, should mark the occasion not only with celebration, but also with renewed commitment.
Not everyone can be a U.S. senator or national environmentalist leader. But everyone can strive, in a variety of ways, to conserve resources and save this planet, on Earth Day and every other day.
by CNB