April 22nd is Earth Day, and this year marks its 44th anniversary as an international event. Created in large part in 1970 by peace activist John McConnell and Senator Gaylord Nelson after a year of planning, it’s now celebrated in 192 countries and is coordinated by the global nonprofit Earth Day Network. Today, it’s considered the largest secular holiday in the world with over 1 billion people celebrating it annually.
It may seem like forever ago, but- believe it or not- up until 1970 there were no regulations on dumping industrial waste and/or toxic waste in streams or into the air. This meant increasingly dirty water, devastated eco-systems, and a visible rapidly increasing cost on the environment and people in general. Earth Day was the beginning of taking this on, and was so effective and taken on by so many Americans that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed. Not long after than, the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act were passed into law- helping in part to protect us from letting things get to the point that they very recently are in some areas of highly industrial China.
More recently, the EPA passed the Clean Boating Act as an addendum to the Clean Water Act. While still not implemented yet due to a variety of factors (it’s politics, what do you expect), it will be eventually. Primarily, this will effect how you can discharge antifouling and corrosion control agents, transport of aquatic nuisance species, bilgewater, cleaning and maintenance related discharges, fishing waste, and graywater. A list of practices will be available once finalized, so it may be worth bookmarking.
Seattle, of course, is a hot bed of Earth Day activity both on and off the water- with events put on by charities, schools, and non-profits & for-profits alike. One big event this year was the Seattle Surfrider chapter’s annual cleanup of Golden Gardens beach in Ballard, which aims to start the beach’s spring and summer season off right- with a clean slate and clean sand. Also of note is the Seward Park service project, which involves not just cleanup of said park but also planting of new & sustainable resources. If you can’t make it, consider making time on Saturday, May 17th for a similar round of improving the world around you.
Not all cleanup events happen on Earth Day, though. May 17th marks the 12th annual The Lake Union Sweep, one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest cleanup events each year, with over 250 volunteers take to the water in kayaks, row boats, canoes and motorized craft to remove 2-3 tons of trash from Lake Union, Portage Bay and Union Bay. Other activities include walking along public shoreline areas to pick up debris and helping the Eastlake Community Council to restore shoreline habitat.
If you’re more toward Oregon, this Earth Day Weekend (April 26th and 27th), there are a huge number of cleanup events that you may want to consider participating in. One such event is Fishin’ for Litter at Casey State Park, which happens Saturday the 26th. Help others pick up litter and leaves, trim hedges, cut blackberries, prune and pull invasive species and paint. Hot coffee and water are provided and there will be activities for the kids! Bring the whole family out to play!
It may be cliche to state that we’ve only got one Earth, but it’s no less true than ever- so we encourage everyone to do what they can to keep our water and natural resources… natural. Dirty water makes everyone’s boating experiences less pleasant, so do what you can to minimize discharging soap, oil, trash, and other hazardous waste right into the water that your kids and other family are falling off their jet skits into. Regardless of your feelings on regulation, I think we can all agree that dirty water isn’t much fun. So, keep it clean out there, and we look forward to seeing you out on the water!
