Today’s post is by Bill, Head of Adult Services.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, with the intention of bringing awareness to environmental issues.  The first Earth Day events drew millions of participants across the U.S. and around the world.  This was the scene in New York City. Since 1970, celebrations have grown, with Earth Day becoming a global event in 1990.

2019 marks the 10th year that Cheshire Public Library has commemorated Earth Day by offering programs on the environment, outdoor activities, gardening, wildlife and more.  This year we offer six programs in April, among them, speakers who are highly esteemed in their fields – from butterflies to birds to “gardening as if the world depends on us.”

The library is a vital place for citizens to become educated and informed about environmental issues, from fracking, to plastic bags and straws, to carbon emissions, so that that they may approach their elected representatives with their concerns.  The environmental impact of plastic straws is a topic that has been in the news a lot recently: The Last Plastic Straw website, Shoreline Town to Consider Banning Plastic Bags, Straws, State of Connecticut Research Report ‘Banning Plastic Straws.

Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, published in 1962 and available in multiple formats at Cheshire Library,  expressed her passionate concern with the future of the planet and all life on Earth, and inspired the modern environmental movement.  In addition, CPL also offers many other materials for those interested in learning more about taking care of our environment:

• American Earth : Environmental Writing Since Thoreau  edited by Bill McKibben; foreword by Al Gore
• Nature and Culture in the Northern Forest edited by Pavel Cenkl; foreword by John Elder
• Forest Bathing : How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li
• Slick Water : Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry by Andrew Nikiforuk
• Friends of the Earth : A History of American Environmentalism by Pat McCarthy
• Rachel Carson and Her Sisters : Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment by Robert K. Musil
• On a Farther Shore : The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson by William Souder

• Sustainable Happiness : Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference edited by Sarah van Gelder and the staff of YES! Magazine
• Food is the Solution : What to Eat to Save the World : 80+ Recipes for a Greener Planet and a Healthier You by Matthew Prescott
• Climate of Hope : How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet by Michael R. Bloomberg and Carl Pope
• An Inconvenient Truth : The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It by Al Gore
• An Inconvenient Truth / [presented by] Paramount Classics and Participant Productions ; a Lawrence Bender/Laurie David production ; produced by Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns ; executive producers, Jeff Skoll .. [and others] ; co-producer, Leslie Chilcott ; directed by Davis Guggenheim
• An Inconvenient Sequel : Truth to Power / Paramount Pictures and Participant Media present ; an Actual Films production ; produced by Jeff Skoll, Richard Berge, p.g.a., Diane Weyermann, p.g.a. ; directed by Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk

We’ll end this post with an audio link to Before the Deluge by Jackson Browne.  The song was released 45 years ago and remains relevant today.