Earth Day: Working Together To Protect The Environment

1A

NPR

News

4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970.

55 years later, we know a lot more about the harmful effect human civilization has on our natural environment. But the desire to find solutions – big and small – continues.

We asked you about your contributions to helping the environment around you. Many of you told us of local solutions to this global challenge.

Those types of stories are the focus of The New York Times series "50 States, 50 Fixes." The series highlights environmental solutions with real results in every state.

We discuss grassroot projects and the history of Earth Day with the reportes behind the series.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	These days, there is a lot of news. It can be hard to keep up with what it means for you, your family, and your community. Consider this from NPR is a podcast that helps you make sense of the news. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a story and provide the context, backstory, and analysis you need to understand our rapidly changing world.
0:23.4	Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR.
0:41.5	April 22nd, 1970, that's 55 years ago today, marked the first Earth Day. Let's have CBS news legend Walter Cronkite take us back in time.
0:50.7	One of the biggest Earth Day observances was in Philadelphia, where an estimated 20 to 40,000 persons gathered in perfect weather in the city's largest part.
0:55.6	It was an Earth Day success story, a major demonstration in a major city. But it did not come easily. There were many organizational problems, including a heated controversy over whether
1:00.7	to accept financial aid from industries causing pollution. David Colhain followed the Philadelphia
1:05.8	story from its start to today's colorful demonstration.
1:12.7	Fairmont Park in Philadelphia today,
1:15.5	as much like a rock music festival as a teach-in on the environment,
1:19.5	mainly white middle-class young people,
1:22.2	as much aroused by the music as by the damage done to the environment by pollution.
1:28.0	This is Philadelphia on Earth Day.
1:32.0	Welcome, sulfur dioxide.
1:36.2	Hello, carbon monoxide.
1:39.6	55 years later, we know a lot more about the harmful effect human civilization has had on our natural environment.
1:46.2	But the desire to find solutions, big and small, continues.
1:49.9	We heard from many of you.
1:51.8	This is Jennifer Green, sustainability director in the city of Burlington, Vermont.
1:56.2	Burlington Electric is a municipal electric utility, the first in the country to source 100% of its electricity from renewables.
2:03.7	So with that in mind, we're working hard to transition folks away from fossil fuels and to strategically electrify
2:10.2	with the help of incentives and rebates for electric vehicles, charging stations, e-bikes, electric lawn equipment, et cetera. And we are making headway.
2:19.8	We just released data for 2024, which shows that we've reduced greenhouse gas emissions
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.