Earth Day was first celebrated on 22 April 1970. Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, came up with the idea after he saw the aftermath of the massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. Nelson wanted to have a “national teach-in on the environment.” Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican congressman from California, cochaired the event, which was organized by Denis Hayes, then a student at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. More than 20 million Americans across the country demonstrated for a healthy, sustainable environment. A few months later, President Richard Nixon proposed the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, which was established by the end of the year.
Almost 50 years later, people all over the planet continue to celebrate Earth Day. This year its theme is “Save Our Species,” which draws attention to the rapid loss of biodiversity around the world caused by human activity, including climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, and the proliferation of pollution and pesticides.
AGU’s podcast, Third Pod from the Sun, has several episodes focused on these very issues. . .
“Tracking Adorable Chainsaws”: Every summer, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center journey to the beaches of the Pribilof Islands to study northern fur seals and try to understand why their populations have been declining since the mid-1970s. . .
“Chasing Narwhals, Unicorns of the Sea”: University of Washington biologist Kristin Laidre travels to the Arctic to study animals many of us have seen only in pictures. She has successfully tracked down the elusive narwhal, seeking to understand how the loss of sea ice and the effects of climate change are altering Arctic ecosystems. . .
“Gunslingers of the Sea”: Ocean acoustics specialist Joe Haxel describes the myriad of animals that contribute to Earth’s underwater soundscape, including fish that growl and crabs that scratch their backs. Haxel discusses how he and his colleagues identified snapping shrimp by their characteristic racket and what their presence means for marine life along the Oregon coast. . . Check out these and other episodes and subscribe to the podcast. Consider applying for an AGU Celebrate 100 Grant for up to $10,000 to reimburse the expenses of your Earth Day event.
—Joshua Speiser (jspeiser@agu.org), Manager of Strategic Communications, AGU
from Eos https://eos.org/agu-news/podcast-celebrate-earth-day-with-stories-from-agu?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=podcast-celebrate-earth-day-with-stories-from-agu
via IFTTT