Today is the 54th celebration of Earth Day, the internationally recognized holiday to raise awareness of and take action to respect the environment. 

The day of action started in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, Congressman Pete McCloskey from California, and environmental advocate Denis Hayes. They decided to take action especially after the disastrous Santa Barbara Oil Spill which also spurred the conservationist President Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency and sign the National Environmental Policy Act. Senator Nelson also saw the benefits and successes of the anti-war movement largely composed of college students passionate about change, and decided to delegate a “weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams to maximize the greatest student participation” (The Scotsman).

Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes. 

“Digital and social media are bringing these conversations, protests, strikes and mobilizations to a global audience, uniting a concerned citizenry as never before and catalyzing generations to join together to take on the greatest challenge that humankind has faced.” – EARTHDAY.ORG

To read more about the history of Earth Day, visit this website.

At Yorba Linda High School, students engage in their own type of eco-activism at a local level. 

For example the Climate Task Force Club led by President Gary Tao (11) regularly engages in well-attended Orange County beach cleanups, often with the climate clubs from other high schools. Most recently, YLHS CTF and EHS Climate Crew went to Balboa Beach, and had a turnout of over 40 participants. The club also collects plastic bottles and cans from YLHS recycle bins to send to recycling centers every Friday.

Also, the E-Waste Club at YLHS actively takes initiative to make our school more environmentally responsible. Timothy Bang (11) is the President of this club, and his fondest memory is of helping a local business owner. A general manager of a senior apartment pays for hearing aids, smoke detectors, and other electronics and pays companies to discard used batteries. YLHS E-Waste Club volunteered to help recycle them. Bang says, “when we came, Tino was happy because he could throw away his batteries, and I was happy because I was able to help Tino recycle his batteries. Through this, I realized my impact on my community and the fact that I could contribute to a greater cause, which is to make our environment a cleaner place.” This inspired the club to establish other battery recycling locations including churches, other senior residents, and potentially in the Yorba Linda Public Library. The E-Waste Club has been able to collect over 4,000 batteries, helping community members while also protecting the environment.

Vice President Yashwant Thammeni (11) believes that e-waste will become more of a problem as technology improves and time goes by. He says that  “it is a growing problem in a modern society and not many people are even aware of the damage that e-waste can cause to the environment.” Thammeni and the other grassroots environmental activists at YLHS are taking matters into their own hands and respecting the Earth. Like-minded individuals can join the YLHS E-Waste club from June 3-4 with Yorba Linda City Hall collecting all kinds of e-waste, and take meaningful action this Earth Day and everyday.