When I attended the very first Earth Day in 1970 as a college student, the air was choked with smog, Rachel Carson had alerted us to the harms caused by DDT, and the heartbreaking massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara polluted miles of ocean and killed thousands of birds. Environmental consciousness was born.
Today, we continue to face severe environmental challenges, yet progress has been made over the past 56 years: The Environmental Protection Agency was established, and with it, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act; we now experience lower levels of air pollution—particulate matter, ozone, and other pollutants; leaded gasoline was banned in 1996; millions of acres of wild places have been protected; clean, renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal) have become the norm.
But there is much more work to be done. I invite you to join me at the upcoming SLO EarthFest on Saturday, April 18. Learn how you can help protect our planet in both large and small ways and have fun with like-minded people. There will be live music, an EV showcase and test drive, kids zone, food trucks, and more. If you can, walk, bike, bus, or carpool to the event.
Rain or shine, come to Santa Rosa Park on April 18 in San Luis Obispo from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find out more: sloclimatecoalition.org.
Jill ZamEk
SLO Climate Coalition
Arroyo Grande
This article appears in April 16 – April 23, 2026.