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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Earth Day: Past, Present and Future

    It's Good Friday, Passover is still underway, and it's also what some call the high holiday of the environmental movement. Now observed in 192 countries, Earth Day was founded in the United States 41 years ago, by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson and Republican Congressman Pete McClosky.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    It's Good Friday, Passover is still underway, and it's also what some call the high holiday of the environmental movement. Now observed in 192 countries, Earth Day was founded in the United States 41 years ago, by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson and Republican Congressman Pete McClosky. But the original Washington-based bipartisanship is a thing of the past, and environmental science is under assault from interests that oppose regulations they say will kill jobs and raise energy costs. On this 41st Earth Day we leave partisanship for another day and get some mainstream assessments of the health of the planet and how it can be improved.

    Photo: A boat on the dried shores of Lake Gruyere, affected by continuous drought near the western Switzerland village of Avry-devant-Pont. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Evaluating the State of the Environment on Earth Day
    1. 0:00Poll Finds New Pessimism on Economy
    2. 7:49Earth Day: Past, Present and FutureYou’re reading this
    3. 42:58Ambassador's Promotion of Interfaith Dialogue Falls Flat at Foggy Bottom
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mike Hirshfield

      Oceana

    • KCRW placeholder

      Tom Lovejoy

      George Mason University

    • KCRW placeholder

      Carter Roberts

      World Wildlife Fund

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Evaluating the State of the Environment on Earth Day
    1. 0:00Poll Finds New Pessimism on Economy
    2. 7:49Earth Day: Past, Present and FutureYou’re reading this
    3. 42:58Ambassador's Promotion of Interfaith Dialogue Falls Flat at Foggy Bottom
    Back to To the Point