Earth Day turns 40 this year

Who would you guess was the original founder of Earth Day?

	Rachel Carson, the pioneering author of Silent Spring.
	Jacques Cousteau, the world-famous explorer, photographer, and ecologist.
	Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

The answer is Senator Nelson. In the mid-1960s, Senator Nelson observed that more and more Americans were expressing concern about the health of our rivers, oceans and wildlife, and yet politicians didn't seem to be getting the message. In 1969 he conceived the idea of a single day of teach-ins and gatherings, a "nationwide, grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment." That was the first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970.

Forty years later, every schoolchild reminds his parents to recycle, and you can buy organic foods (and the canvas reusable bag to put them in) at Wal-mart. How will we celebrate Earth Day in another 40 years? Will our progress towards a more sustainable lifestyle speed up, or slow down?

At the library we have books and films on all aspects of environmental questions. Here are just a few you might find interesting:

• In A World Without Ice, geophysicist Henry Pollack paints a compelling portrait of the delicate geological balance between ice and climate, and why its rapid disappearance portends serious consequences in our not-so-distant future.
• Bjorn Lomborg argues in his book, Cool it - The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide To Global Warming that many of the expensive actions now being considered to stop global warming are based on emotional rather than strictly scientific assumptions, and may very well have little impact on the world's temperature for hundreds of years.
• In Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy, Gwyneth Cravens makes the case that nuclear energy should be reconsidered by environmentalists as a source of sustainable energy for a cleaner, greeener world.

Spotlight on: The Beardsley Zoo. Beardsley Zoo in nearby Bridgeport will be the site of a Party for the Planet on the weekend of April 17th-18th -- a two-day Earth Day celebration, from 10 am - 3 pm each day. "The Party for the Planet is about encouraging local, organic, earth-friendly choices as a way of promoting better health for our planet and ourselves," said Gregg Dancho, Zoo director. An educational "Citizen Science Corner" will show families how to get involved with caring for our environment, and environmentally-friendly products and services will be on display. Live music and the special displays are included in the regular zoo admission.