in honor of the original spirit of Earth Day - quotes from Sen. Gaylord Nelson

[peacebird]

"Environment is all of America and its problems. It is rats in the ghetto. It is a hungry child in a land of affluence. It is housing not worthy of the name; neighborhoods not fit to inhabit.“ Gaylord Nelson


"Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all living creatures.”

Senator Nelson at the inaugural Earth Day in Denver 1970


“At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance.” - Senator Gaylord Nelson


"there has been a sea change in the degree of environmentally-educated people in our society. They, in the end, will make the difference." Senator Gaylord Nelson 1995

[elocs]

1. Senator Nelson was a great Wisconsin senator.

I had the honor of voting for both him and Bill Proxmire as my Senators. Today I have Feingold.

I tried unsuccessfully to start a thread today about what our environment might be like if the Republicans had their way for the past 40 years, allowing businesses and industry to get away with anything and everything as long as it made a buck.

[peacebird]

2. Exactly - here are just a few things that got passed as a result of Nelson and Earth Day

The Environmental Protection Agency - 1970
The Clean Air Act – 1970
The Occupational Safety & Health Act – 1970
The Clean Water Act – 1972
The Endangered Species Act – 1973
Toxic Substances Control Act – 1976
The Resource Conservation & Recovery Act - 1976

Senator Gaylord Nelson was a fantastic soul. I wish we had more like him today.