Halcyon Days: Happy Earth Day

There was a time, not so very long ago, when young people believed they could change the world. Idealism, a hope for honest government, peace in the world, a healthier planet – these were just some of the initiatives that directed the actions of teens and young people in the 1960s and 1970s.

Today we can thank them that we observe April 22 as Earth Day.

Young people wanted an entire relationship with the earth. They walked barefoot, wore flowers in their hair, lived at communes where they grew their own food. They were frustrated with the lack of government initiative towards cleaning up the environment and leniency with corporate polluters. They organized, protested and contributed to environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and by 1970, the Ecology Movement was in full swing. They were the first to promote biodegradable products and the use of natural ingredients in everything from fabrics to shampoo. They boycotted companies whose products polluted the environment; used animals for testing; were pro-war or very reactionary; or manufactured dangerous chemicals or weapons.

The National Environmental Policy Act was signed into law and on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was declared. This landmark event, involving 20 million people, raised awareness about how humans were treating the planet and ways to mitigate the impending dangers to the environment.

So while we're on the subject of how the activism of youth can change things, here are just a few more contributions from that generation:

--Pioneered numerous lifestyles and alternative businesses including communes, cooperatives, holistic medicine and health food, the back to the land movement, cooperative business enterprises, alternative energy, free press movement and organic farming.

-- Associated with participation in peace movements, including peace marches such as the USA marches on Washington and civil rights marches, and anti-Vietnam war demonstrations including the 1968 Democratic Convention. In four years, they managed to stop the Vietnam War.

--Questioned robot materialism.

--Contributed to the popularization of Indian food, especially curries and basmati rice. Asian foods like tofu and soybeans are now part of many healthy American diets. Whole grain bakeries all over the country now offer a variety of multigrain breads which are healthier than the traditional American white bread.

--Popularized the practice of eastern philosophy, yoga, Hare Krishna and got more in touch with their spiritual being. Today, yoga is totally mainstream!

There are many others, but we'll just leave it at these!

And here's a quote from one of the most hip guys of the 1960s:

“People today are still living off the table scraps of the sixties. They are still being passed around- the music and the ideas” - Bob Dylan (1992)

And the lyrics of a favorite song from that time:

Age of Aquarius

When the moon is in the Seventh House

And Jupiter aligns with Mars

Then peace will guide the planets

And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

Age of Aquarius

Aquarius! Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding

Sympathy and trust abounding

No more falsehoods or derisions

Golden living dreams of visions

Mystic crystal revelation

And the mind's true liberation

Aquarius! Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House

And Jupiter aligns with Mars

Then peace will guide the planets

And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

Age of Aquarius

Aquarius! Aquarius!