On Wednesday April 22, the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted its 3rd Annual Earth Day luncheon in the Solario de Fortaleza at the CSUB Student Recreation Center in celebration of Earth Day, which focused on conservation in the workplace and community
“We started this event three years ago. We felt that there is a lot of resources out there in the community, from recycling to going green, and thought that this event would shine light on business owners and the community in general to conserve at home and at work,” said Jay Tamsi, the President and CEO of the KCHCC.
“We have many resources in Kern County from recycling, green certification, anti-litter and utility programs; it’s important to inform our members and community of these services,” said Tamsi. “We need to take advantage of these vital programs in the workplace, home and surrounding environment.”
Cal Water and Kern Green were some of the companies that attended the luncheon to talk about the environment and local issues.
Earth Day began on April 22, 1970 when Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. senator from Wisconsin, came up with the idea of Earth Day after witnessing the disaster of a large oil spill in Santa Barbara, California in 1969. Senator Nelson was influenced by all the student anti-war movements and announced to the media an idea for a national “teach-in on the environment.”
On that day, over 20 million people took to the streets for the rallies that were meant to demonstrate a healthier, greener way of living. Groups that had been fighting against various causes for the deterioration of the environment, oil spills and toxic dumps realized they were all fighting for the same thing and came together to spread knowledge about the environment.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts were all a result of the first Earth Day.
In 1990, Denis Hayes, the national coordinator for the first Earth Day in 1970 began another campaign. During the second campaign, Earth Day went global. 200 million people in 141 different countries were mobilized to help lift environmental issues on to the world stage, and recycling efforts nationwide were given a huge boost.
You can find more information about the history of Earth Day at http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement.