It's Friday. I'm sharing the story of how a 1969 oil spill became a catalyst for nationwide environmental action. Plus, the world's largest wildlife crossing breaks ground today. |
 | | Workers raked oil-soaked hay along the beach in Santa Barbara in 1969, as part of the cleanup effort after a massive oil spill.Bettmann, via Getty Images |
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As you probably know, April 22 is a day set aside for appreciating the environment and demonstrating support for laws that protect it. |
The tradition dates back to the first Earth Day in 1970, which led to the passage of landmark environmental legislation in the United States. It was a momentous event that helped create the modern environmental movement — one whose origins can be traced to the shores of California. |
Here's a little history: Americans in the 1960s were becoming increasingly aware of the ways their behavior could be harming the natural world. |
Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," published in 1962, detailed how pesticides hurt the environment. The polluted Cuyahoga River in Cleveland kept catching fire. The California condor faced extinction. Panic was brewing about a global overpopulation crisis. |
But it was a massive oil spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara that ultimately served as a catalyst for Earth Day. |
"Santa Barbara brought it home to people — that this could affect the well-to-do, this could affect the poor and, of course, the natural environment," said Denis Hayes, national coordinator of the original Earth Day. "It began to weave all of these issues into a common narrative." |
In late January 1969, millions of gallons of crude oil began to pour into the waters off Santa Barbara. It was the biggest oil spill in U.S. history at the time (though not anymore) — and it was televised. |
From their living rooms, Americans watched as sandy California beaches turned black and birds' feathers were slathered in tar. The corpses of seals and dolphins washed in with the tide. |
The catastrophe gave Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, the idea to hold a national teach-in about environmentalism. In the fall of 1969, Nelson recruited Hayes, then a 25-year-old graduate student at Harvard, to organize the event, which would eventually turn into Earth Day. |
Hayes told me that it has never been entirely clear to him why the oil spill captured the public's imagination the way it did. "There was something about Santa Barbara that I think no one could explain, except that I think the time was ripe," he told me. |
 | | Denis Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day, at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.Grant Hindsley for The New York Times |
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Hayes and a team of young activists began working to organize marches and other events to take place across the country on April 22, 1970. In an article published in March that year, The New York Times described Hayes as a man who "hops around the country like an ecological Dustin Hoffman, preaching mobilization for environmental reform with sober but evangelical militance." (If you're interested, my colleague John Schwartz wrote an excellent profile of Hayes a few years back.) |
The coast-to-coast demonstrations on that first Earth Day drew a stunning 20 million Americans, one-tenth of the country's population at the time. The enormous turnout helped prompt unprecedented action at the state and federal levels to safeguard the environment. |
In the Golden State, where the oil spill began to heavily influence political discourse, the California Environmental Quality Act was adopted in 1970. Two years later, voters approved the creation of the California Coastal Commission, a state agency in charge of protecting the seashore. |
At the national level, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, and President Richard M. Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. "All of a sudden, in rapid succession, they pass law after law after law," said Kathleen Rodgers, president of EarthDay.org, the nonprofit behind the annual events. |
She called it nothing short of a miracle. |
Today, Earth Day is celebrated in 192 countries. Its mission includes curbing plastic pollution, supporting regenerative agriculture and combating climate change. |
Hayes, now 77, spearheaded Earth Day events for half a century. He lived in Seattle for many years, but had long promised his wife that they would retire "somewhere sunny." |
Now, the pair has settled in, of all places, Santa Barbara. |
 | | A construction crew working on the California High-Speed Rail project in Selma.Ryan Christopher Jones for The New York Times |
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- Pandemic regulations: California workplace regulators on Thursday extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, The Associated Press reports.
- Free fentanyl tests: Restaurants and bars in the Bay Area are giving patrons free fentanyl tests to combat a worsening opioid epidemic, Reuters reports.
- Book bans: In 2020, Burbank Unified School District removed "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Of Mice and Men" and other classics from its reading lists, citing potential harm to Black students. In a Times guest essay, a Burbank High junior pleads for district officials to reconsider.
- Water supply: Forests burned by wildfires may make snow vanish faster, as the trees no longer provide shade and shed carbon, The Associated Press reports.
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- Armenian American museum: Take a look at plans for a museum exploring Armenian history and Armenian American culture that is expected to open in Glendale in 2024. LAist has the details.
- Housing project: A $25 million, 40-unit apartment building for homeless people is planned for Mid-City, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
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- Pollution in Fresno: A new report by the American Lung Association says the air in Fresno is the most polluted in the country, The Fresno Bee reports.
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- Thefts at Stanford: A former Stanford University employee and her brother were sentenced to federal prison this week for a scheme in which hundreds of laptop computers were ordered on behalf of the university but sold for private gain.
- Lockdown at U.C. Berkeley: The campus was on lockdown for several hours on Thursday after the police reported credible threats of violence toward people associated with the university, The Associated Press reports.
- Oakland school closings: Families of children with disabilities say that the shutting of several Oakland schools is discriminatory, KQED reports.
- Harassment scandal: The Sonoma State president, Judy Sakaki, is facing a revolt from faculty after accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation involving her and her husband were revealed, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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 | | Yoshihiro Makino |
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 | | David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. |
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 | | Max Whittaker for The New York Times |
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Today's tip comes from Barry Schiller, who recommends visiting Davis: |
"Though I now like living in New England, I always visit Davis, where I went to graduate school at U.C. Davis and learned about cycling. A visitor could rent a bike and explore a campus that was deliberately developed in a bicycle-oriented way; ride a bike path along Putah Creek to look at California vegetation including a redwood grove; and pedal downtown for a variety of cafes, bookstores and the Spanish-style Southern Pacific railroad station still in use by Amtrak, which is a good way to get to Davis from the Bay Area." |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
How are you feeling about the latest mask rules for public transit in your area? |
 | | John Antczak/Associated Press |
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And before you go, some good news |
Groundbreaking is scheduled for Friday on construction of the world's biggest wildlife crossing. The bridge over U.S. 101 in Agoura Hills will eventually allow safe passage for mountain lions, coyotes, snakes and more. |
For years, the busy 10-lane freeway has been an almost impenetrable barrier for wildlife and it appears to have caused a worrisome lack of genetic diversity within local animal populations, according to scientists at the National Park Service. There are signs of inbreeding among local mountain lions, most likely because of habitat fragmentation, they say. |
"It's super exciting to see the science that we've worked so hard on for many years result in concrete action to benefit wildlife," Seth Riley, the wildlife branch chief for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said in a statement. "This is a pivotal moment for conservation and for our park." |
Thanks for reading. We'll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend. — Soumya |
Briana Scalia and Jack Kramer contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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