There have been so few politicians who are probably known for their environmental initiatives. There are many who do charities and support great causes, no doubt but environment has always been a second-pick option for many of them.

In 1962, the U.S Senator Gaylord Nelson ushered in a new chapter in the American politics.

A known figure in environmental circles, Nelson championed many a causes from civil rights, war on poverty, drug trafficking, anti-Vietnam campaign to fostering small business growth. But his best bet has been environmental conservation.

Fighting against pesticide use,especially DDT, Nelson proposed in 1969 to for a grassroots movement for environmental change. That's how the concept of Earth Day was born.

The first Earth Day was recognised on April 22, 1970 with approximately 20 million Americans showing support for Nelson. In a popular speech that day resounds till date, Nelson opined that "Our goal is an environment of decency, quality, and mutual respect for all other human creatures and for all living creatures. The battle to restore a proper relationship between man and his environment, between man and other living creatures will require a long, sustained, political, moral, ethical, and financial commitment- far beyond any effort made before."

The Father of Earth Day, Nelson has left a glorious legacy for all of us to emulate and learn from. We as citizens and businesses in the society do not need to take gigantic steps always; small acts of conscious resource use will go a long way in safeguarding our planet.

The media has always a pivotal spokesperson of the environmentalist movement- be it giving the activists the exposure or acting as platform for change in itself. From overpopulation to global warming, the media, in all its forms has voiced its opinion. Sometimes it has added meaning , sometimes it sounds utterly crazy.

Here are the top 5 wackiest environment pandering statements that the media has ever rolled out:

1. "No one can say exactly what it looks like when a planet takes ill, but it probably looks a lot like Earth...Suddenly and unexpectedly, the crisis is upon us. Something has gone grievously wrong. That something is global warming ...It’s undeniable that the White House’s environmental record — from the abandonment of Kyoto to the President’s [George W. Bush] broken campaign pledge to control carbon output to the relaxation of emission standards — has been dismal."



2. "Ultimately, no problem may be more threatening to the Earth’s environment than the proliferation of the human species."



3. "Despite the danger that climate change poses, the resources currently devoted to studying this problem- and combating it - are inconsequential compared with the trillions spent during the Cold War. Twenty years from now, we may wonder how we could have miscalculated which threat represented the greater peril."



4. "Today, life on Earth is disappearing faster than the days when dinosaurs breathed their last, but for a very different reason...Us homo sapiens are turning out to be as destructive a force as any asteroid. Earth’s intricate web of ecosystems thrived for millions of years as natural paradises, until we came along, paved paradise, and put up a parking lot. Our assault on nature is killing off the very things we depend on for our own lives...The stark reality is that there are simply too many of us, and we consume way too much, especially here at home...It will take a massive global effort to make things right, but the solutions are not a secret: control population, recycle, reduce consumption, develop green technologies."



5. "It’s a morbid observation, but if everyone on earth just stopped breathing for an hour, the greenhouse effect would no longer be a problem."



Media can be a boon or bane depending on the way we choose it as a instrument of articulation. How are using the social media to spread your Earth Day mission statement? Let us know by leaving a reply below.

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