The Record: Go green
EARTH DAY grew out of the student "teach-ins" during the Vietnam War. Worried that politicians were conveniently ignoring environmental concerns, Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson had the idea to create a similar grass-roots movement, one that would send Washington a strong message that voters cared about the environment. It was 1969, and Nelson had just visited a catastrophic oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Seven months later, 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day. By the end of the year, Congress had created the Environmental Protection Agency.
Earth Day 42 looks a lot different. Universities offer environmental studies majors, recycling has become commonplace, everyone has heard of solar energy and it’s easy to buy green cleaning products. On an individual level, there’s been much progress. But the big problems still exist, with energy among the worst.
The BP oil spill and the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster have sounded the alarm once again that we have to find alternative, safe energy sources. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to allow states to sue utilities as a way to force them to cut carbon dioxide emissions from their coal-burning plants. Climate change, brought about in part by the production and use of energy, is a depressing reality.
The problems seem too big to solve by turning off unnecessary lights and insulating a house. But there is an alternative that is simple, elegant and obvious. It’s been around even longer than Earth Day: public transportation. Today is a great day to start using it, if even for one day. Although it may be a challenging task. New Jersey’s mass transit system is not what it should be.
The state needs a comprehensive transit infrastructure that moves people in an environmentally sound way. Why can’t we coordinate buses, trains, light rail and even jitneys to allow residents to travel within New Jersey without having to start a car engine? It’s simply a matter of priorities.
Go green. Go public transportation.