Contact: Aaron Collins, 608-266-2254
We honor our conservation past while planning for the future
MADISON – Today, Wisconsin celebrates Earth Day. While this is a worldwide event, our state has a unique connection to this holiday, as it was conceived by Wisconsin’s own Gaylord Nelson. Governor Tony Evers has also announced that 2019 is the “Year of Clean Drinking Water” making this Earth Day a unique opportunity to focus our efforts on the policies the Governor has laid out in his budget. Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) made the following remarks regarding Earth Day in Wisconsin:
“I am proud to celebrate Earth Day today in Wisconsin. Our state has long been a leader in environmental protection and in raising awareness of the need to conserve our natural resources. We must all work together to fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of our planet and to do all we can to protect it,” Rep. Hintz stated. “The Governor’s budget provides a strong blueprint to support clean communities by returning science to the DNR, focusing on clean drinking water, and promoting clean and renewable energy.”
Senator Gaylord Nelson conceived the idea of Earth Day in 1970 after witnessing the devastation of a major oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The first Earth Day event was successful, engaging over two thousand universities and colleges, ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the country. Today, the first Earth Day is credited with propelling environmental awareness and conservation onto the world stage and leading Congress to pass the Clean Air Act and create the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
“To honor Gaylord Nelson’s legacy, we must also confront the challenges before us regarding environmental protections. Climate change and the impact it is having on our communities is something we must address immediately. The future of our state and our planet hinge on the policy decisions we make today. Shortsighted thinking is no longer an option as we learn more about the immediate and long-term impacts on future generations,” Hintz concluded.