Pete Seeger and the Environmental Myth

I did not know Pete Seeger well, in fact I only met him once. It was backstage after a concert in 1968. Many people know that Pete had a substantial influence in cleaning up the Hudson River, and in doing so he was able to dispel the environmental myth that the human race is not powerful enough to substantially alter the environmental health of the planet. I grew up in a time when the air was white and the water was a rainbow green and it was because of the work and efforts of people like Pete Seeger that in the United States this is now not usually the case.

In April 1970, I was suspended from high school for handing out leaflets. These flyers were not handouts promoting revolution but were to promote a rally for the first Earth Day. I ended up celebrating that day in Union Square Park with thousands of other concerned individuals. At the same time Pete took an Earth Day trip on the Sloop Clearwater to Washington, DC to raise the awareness of the government and concerned citizens about the threat of environmental poisoning.

As a resident of the Hudson Valley, I am extremely grateful to Pete for all of his efforts to make it a more beautiful and environmentally sound place to live. I am extremely grateful for the blue skies, beautiful foliage and sparkling waters. If the efforts of one man are powerful enough to have a positive effect on the environment, is it that hard to accept that millions of people can have a negative effect on the environment? The current debate about global climatic disruption is a bait and switch. If we can get people to spend their time discussing this subject, will it take their mind off of the fact that it is not OK to poison the water, and it is not OK to poison the air and it is not OK to poison the earth?