FL ... ^ t I H 1
ioneers Park activities cater to children
n Earth Day is for everyone, but the
20th Anniversary Earth Day cele
bration at Pioneers Park on Sun
day was especially for the young.
A full afternoon of events be
gan with opening ceremonies in
the Pinewood Bowl. Speakers at
the ceremonies emphasized that
“everything can’t be done at 1
once” when it comes to cleaning up our environment. |
Speakers included Mayor Bill Harris, Sen. James
Exon, Former Mayor Helen Boosalis, Biologist Dr.
Paul Johnsgard and State Poet Bill Kloefkorn.
Exon urged everyone to “keep up the pressure to
clean up the environment.”
Kloefkorn said people may not see the results of I
their efforts within their lifetime, but still must think of |
the state of the Earth for their children and grandchil- P
dren. * P
Environmental groups such as Ecology Now and L
area schools are pushing to involve children early in 1
efforts to save the Earth, and children were every- 9
w here Sunday. Hundreds of sunburned children ran 1
around in Earth Day T-shirts proudly showing their gg
“save-the-earth” art to parents and grandparents. 1
Games were scheduled all day so that even the ••
youngest children could take an active part in Earth I
I Day. |
Earth Day shopping bags decorated by area grade 1
school students were handed out to hold the many fl
pa m pi lieu* avdiiduii; auuui cutigy cuusci vduuii, til- |
dangered species, environmentally safe products and 1
every other environmental cause. j
Ecology Now sponsored an essay contest for high
school students in Lincoln and the winners were
honored in the opening ceremonies. Their theme was
"Eaith Day is every day.”
But adults swarmed the park too, avidly collecting
information from the 42 exhibitors in the tents. Many
showed their support by signing petitions and dis
cussing issues with other environmentalists.
There was great interest in the products such as
“Envirobag,” a canvas bag to be used in place of
grocery bags and other plastic store bags to help
reduce waste in landfills.
GE also had a popular product with its “Compax
Energy Efficient Light Bulbs,” which last six years and
use "5 percent less energy than ordinary incandescent
bulbs.
Other activities included ongoing nature hikes,
bird banding demonstrations, Pioneers Park Prairie
Hikes and tethered hot air balloon rides. There also
was a temporary recycling center set up for the day.
The 87-degree temperature attracted 5,000 people,
accordingto Lincoln police estimates, although notall
took part in the festivities.
Boosalis said when she was involved in the first
Earth Day celebration 20 years ago, there were only a
handful of people who took initiative and lead the
way for succeeding generations.
-Jennifer Johnson
Above: Parents and
children join in on
parachute games
on Earth Day at
Pioneers Park
Sunday.
Right:Mabel Ott of
Chet Ager Nature
Center demon
strates bird band
ing.
--1
J<x‘ Heinzlc/Daily Nebraskan
Melissa McReynolds/DaJly Nebraskan
® ,;:.n perhaps informed some
people of the scientific pro
■ lems of our rapidly
W deteriorating biosphere, the
I enormous social implications
p have been overlooked. "Pollu
tion control” and other issues
I dealing with the sources can, at
m best, only forestall cataslrophy.
& To save the world, we must
fjg concentrate on the entire
In Today’s technology of af
j® fluence, commercial exploita
^ tion, overproduction and glut
W tonous consumption hi Is in
compatiable with the survival
of the earth. It Is foolish to
think that capitalistic
technology will ever gear itself
to human need' or .that' the
government will divert
precious Defense Department
money to make our cities
viable ecosystems.
THE POWER money and, ^B
therefore, the government will ■
never meet the ecological ■
crisis. Petitioning them with ■
teach-ins, marches and protests £
will be far more futile and fl
dangerous than it has been with fl
poverty, women’s liberation, J9
Vietnam or civil rights. »
Ecological reorganization V
strikes at the very wallet of 9
world power, for it will be. V
necessary to totally restructure 1
man’s environment, an un- 1
profitable venture.
Being peaceful by nature, a J
genuine pacifist, I fear wc may |
be forced to burn down the
world we’ve got in order to get
a better one. In the face of this, A
I find it aggravating to sec V
concerned students only I
debating better ways to bury ?
garbage. The issue is survival .
Earth . . . Love it or leave
it7
John B. Dzerk
ilMiila'iMBMMiMi
■■Dotty Nebraskan
May I, 1970
Music, ecology> mix
Bands contribute time for cause
DG 1 o b a 1
awareness
took a me
lodic turn at
the Broyhill
Plaza on Sat
urday night
as music met
ecology at the Earth Day Concert.
Sponsored by l'PC, KRNU (90.3
FM) and the Earth Day Coalition,
four local musical acts donated
their time and equipment to cele
brate Earth Day 1990 and promote
saving the planet.
Lincoln’s C Street Gypsies took
the stage first with their brand of
blues-rock. As passing cyclists
stopped to watch and spectators
took up position around the rim of
the Broyhill Fountain, several ener
getic listeners danced near the
doors of the Nebraska Union while
the Gypsies warmed up the crowd
Greetings of “Happy Earth Day"
floated through the Plaza, while
banners and slogans such as
"Think Globally and Act Locally,"
and “It’s not just a day, it’s a way of
life” reminded of the spirit behind
the music.
On a less harmonic level, spec
tators repeatedly were reminded
not to walk in the empty fountain.
As dusk fell, the popular Omaha
band The Acorns took over. Be
sides old favorites like ' Yes, Vir
ginia,” the band tried out new
material on the crowd
While listening to the groups
perform, spectators could munch
on such ecological treats as organi
cally grown Nebraska popcorn and
chocolate cookies with espresso
beans from the Ecology Now con
cession, supplied at a discount by
Open Harvest, 2637 Randolph St.
Ecology Now also provided in
formation sheets on ecological is
sues and newsletters for the public.
Earth Day ravers also had the
opportunity to sign petitions ask
ing, among other things, fora more
comprehensive recycling program
in Lincoln, including the collection
of paper and glass besides alumi
num cans.
After The Acorns, Brian Gerk
ensmeyer kept the concert moving
with a solo guitar act before the
final band, Such Sweet Thunder,
brought the audience dancing in
the dark to the concert’s conclu
sion.
“Green” definitely was the
mood throughout the concert,
from the glow-in-the-dark neck
laces of the children running
through the crowd, to the metallic
sheen of the dresses of the high
school prom-goers making their
way to the union
Matters of global consequence
aside, the concert was not without
its problems Passing prom kings
and queens got their share of heck
ling from the crowd
And although the mood at the
concert was one of concern for the
earth, only a few steps away litter
spotted the parking lot Ironically,
aluminum cans stuck out of a trash
bin - right next to an aluminum
recycling container.
Despite its down notes, the
Earth Day Concert ended in good
feelings after 11:30 p m. w'ith the
crowd dancing around the stage,
and listener Jessica Logan’s hope
that "Everybody, including myself,
would think about it more often
than one day.”
WUUam RudtAph
