By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
As sure as the wildflowers burst forth in April, so do the defenders of the Earth. Communities are buzzing with recycling events, cross country runs, beach clean ups and festivals.
This year is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, and the event is now deeply rooted in our culture, with promotions at stores, celebrations at zoos, a notation on the calendar. As befits a holiday celebrating Mother Earth, events are uniquely local. In Cheboygan, they’ll host harbor tours. In Seattle, conservation project volunteers will get free tickets to an Earth Day concert. In St. Paul, they’ll fly kites and create public art, and in Los Angeles, Avatar director James Cameron will speak at a benefit.
Earth Day Network organizers, however, want the capstone U.S. Earth Day event, to be more than just an opportunity to win a free Prius or ride a Segway. They’re hoping that a rally in Washington D.C. on April 25 , will show that a broad swath of the public wants to get down to business on climate change and see Congress pass a strong national climate and clean energy bill.
Even if it’s hard to do. Even if some lawmakers kick and scream.
This year, on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, it would be tempting to get nostalgic and pat each other on the back, says Nate Byer, Earth Day Network campaign director. “But there’s not much to celebrate,” he says. So the EDN, which is coordinating the national event, hopes the crowd and speakers will focus on the fierce urgency of now, with the D.C. podium serving as a launch pad for all-out campaign to secure climate change legislation this year.
“We’re hoping it will be the biggest climate rally devoted to clean air and energy that there has been so far,” Byer says. A record turnout would help show that not just environmentalists, but labor groups, small businesses, cities, faith organizations, farmers and just regular folks want action that will make 
the country more energy secure and assure a clean, bright future for the younger generation.
“A broad base of support is key (to demonstrate) here. This isn’t just environmental groups, it’s faith and labor and social justice and green business and government,” he said. “We’re trying to show that this is an issue that everyone has a stake in and that affects all communities.”
Aside from the tick-tick on rising greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say will bring calamitous (and economy-crippling) sea-level rises and heat waves and will obviously affect everyone if not addressed, there are tangible negative effects of rising global temperatures already apparent, Byer noted.
“In urban communities we see our children have asthma rates higher than ever. We see elderly dying in severe heat or severe cold. In the Midwest we see drought and crop failures affecting our agricultural systems, and we’re falling behind the race with China and India and Europe in creating the economy of the future, in creating a new class of jobs that cannot be imported overseas.”
A key issue that speakers at the rally will address is energy security, that point of consensus among Americans where even those who are skeptical of climate change can see the advantages of using clean, local energy as opposed to continuing dependence on foreign oil.
“A climate bill is a jobs bill, it is an energy bill and it is a bill that will ensure the well being of future generations,’” Byer said.
The D.C. rally, set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., will feature these speakers: The Reverend Jesse Jackson; film director James Cameron; AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong; producer Trudie Styler; author Margaret Atwood and others. Headline performers will include Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Q-Tip and Booker T.
It is open to the public and free of charge. EDN would not estimate how many are expected.
(For selected other events around the country, please see our list.)
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