Plants in the greenhouse on campus. Photo by Kate Smith

Earth Week at USU

Earth Day is a nationally-recognized holiday commonly used to raise awareness of the issues that affect the environment.  

According to earthday.org, the first Earth Day was hosted in 1970 after Sen. Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, teamed up with Rep. Pete McCloskey and college student Dennis Hayes to host an event to raise awareness for air and water quality after a massive oil spill off the coast in California. 

They chose April 22 for the event so students could participate in between spring break and final exams.  

The event caught national recognition and millions of Americans took to the streets to protest against the impacts of industrial development that they claimed had been harming the environment for years.   

Earth Day would go on to become a national holiday and inspire lawmakers to create legislation in the name of conservation, like the Clean Water and Clean Air acts.  

In addition to legislature, Earth Day has inspired Disney to release a movie each year on this day. This year, it will be releasing “Polar Bear,” “Explorer: The Last Tepui” and “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return.”  

Earth Day will be welcomed at Utah State University with a host of events, including the Earth Day Alley Cat event, hosted by Aggie Blue Bikes, where students ride their bikes and pick up trash off the streets.   

The Earth Week coordinator, Isabella Gardner, encouraged students to participate by coming to the week-long events and staying up to date with the USU Sustainability Office social media accounts all year round for the other activities they host.  

“I hope we can gain a further understanding of our environment and be more aware. To have a full week designated for Earth Week is pretty unique,” Gardner said.  

Patrick Belmont, the head of the USU Department of Watershed Sciences, spoke to the importance of bringing awareness to the environment. 

“In some way I think every day should be Earth Day. We really need to be turning the corner on some of these big environmental issues,” Belmont said. 

 He explained cutting out fossil fuels is paramount in confronting the environmental issues that are getting worse — some of which are even irreversible. 

 One issue being climate change. 

 According to NASA, the earth can expect higher temperatures, stronger hurricanes and little to no ice in the Arctic in the next few decades as a result of climate change.  

“The ecosystems of the planet are at the heart of our global economy,” Belmont said. “It’s a social issue, it’s a human health issue, it’s an economic issue. We can get the problem solved, there’s no question in my mind about it. But we’re not headed in the right direction.”   

Jon Meyer, a Utah Climate Center assistant state climatologist, highlighted a couple of easy ways for individuals to cut down on their carbon emissions.  

“Buying local or regional is really important right now because it involves far less transportation costs, which is significant from an environmental point of view when you think of how many products are shipping from another continent to come here,” Meyer said.  

He also mentioned cutting red meat out from a couple meals each week can have a noticeable impact on our carbon and water footprints.  

In addition to lifestyle changes, anyone can visit the Utah Climate Center website to view their global or Utah-specific climate research.  

The center also helps operate the Utah Climate Observatory south of USU, where anyone can interact with one of the most accurate weather stations in the state.  

“You can go to the kiosk by the station and interact with all the data that’s been collected for the last five or so years, and look at all the trends, cycles and climate statistics,” Meyer said.  

James Evans, a professor of geosciences at USU, helped create two classes in the geology department — planet Earth and energy in the 21st century.  

He recommends students can save energy by considering alternatives to low gas mileage cars, such as biking, taking the bus or using a more fuel-efficient car.  

“Turn the thermostat up in the summertime, and down in the wintertime — even a degree or two makes a big difference in terms of your carbon footprint,” Evans said.  

Students at USU who are interested in climate science can take the planet Earth class in fall 2022.   

The class covers the basics of Earth science, such as how the Earth moves through space and the geological makeup of the planet, and how scientists made certain discoveries.  

“It’s not necessarily presenting memorization or big concepts, which are in there, but it’s also talking about the tools that we have to be more involved in society and the world that we live in,” Burger said.  

Earth Week activities start at the Logan USU campus on April 18 for students to attend and learn more about the environment and what they can do to help fight climate change. 

-Ryker.Eggenberger@usu.edu

Featured photo by: Kate Smith