Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. As many of us remember, 1970s America was a place where industrial plants spewed smoke and sludge into the air with virtually no regulation, heavy and inefficient cars burned through leaded gasoline, and air pollution was commonly accepted as unavoidable. Then came the birth of the modern environmental movement. Thanks in large part to the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, grassroots movements united with students and the support of a few concerned politicians, and the first Earth Day was born. Earth Day 1970 brought 20 million Americans (at the time, 10% of the total population) into the streets and parks to demonstrate agains 150 years of unregulated pollution and greed.
One pioneer who has been at the forefront of the environmental movement around the world is Jane Goodall. Although she is most well known for her work with primates, Goodall is also an avid environmental and animal rights activist. Now she has a new documentary, appropriately premiering today, in which she discusses everything from animal empathy to COVID-19. It is available to stream on Disney+, or catch it live on the National Geographic channel. Give it a watch, and give thanks for one sweet world.