海角大神

Is Earth Day dead?

Maybe not, but if we鈥檝e read the tree rings correctly, it may be dying. Which is why 2013 is the year we don鈥檛 need to save the Earth 鈥� we need to save Earth Day.

Consider this: A finds Americans are less concerned about the environment now than when Earth Day began. A lot less.

In 1971, the year after Earth Day was founded, 63 percent of Americans said it was 鈥渧ery important鈥� to work to restore and enhance the national environment, according to an Opinion Research Corp. poll for President Richard Nixon. This year, only 39 percent of respondents said it was very important, according to a 2013 HuffPost/YouGov poll.

Other categories show similar disinterestedness. In 1971, 25 percent said working to restore the environment is 鈥渇airly important,鈥� and 8 percent said it was 鈥渘ot too important.鈥� In 2013, 41 percent said it was fairly important, and 16 percent said it was not too important.

And found a similar falloff in eco-consciousness just over the past three or four years, with fewer and fewer Americans describing themselves as 鈥渆nvironmentally conscious.鈥�

What with all the other concerns competing for our attention 鈥� terrorism, a limping economy, celebrities behaving badly 鈥� we shouldn鈥檛 be surprised that the Earth has orbited off our list of priorities.

That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e not surprised to read about (Yes, you read that right: The land of redwood-hugging, granola-crunching, eat local-pioneering, plastic bag-banning Earth hippies is considering the controversial technique known as fracking.) and .

And that鈥檚 why we shouldn鈥檛 be surprised to learn that among developed nations, the US is dead last in energy productivity, the level of economic output achieved from energy consumed.

According to by Sen. Mark Warner (D) of Virginia and National Grid president Tom King, 57 percent of the 鈥渆nergy flowing into our economy is simply wasted,鈥� costing US businesses and households $130 billion per year.

Heck, even China ranks better than us.

No, Earth Day isn鈥檛 dead. But it needs intervention.

Is it time to make it a priority again 鈥� both in government and public opinion? If so, several things would need to happen.

For starters, lawmakers must advance initiatives that support not just the environment and clean energy, but also economic growth. As Senator Warner wrote for Politico, 鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that we recognize stewardship and growth not as mutually exclusive, but as complementary goals.鈥�

Warner also suggests rethinking regulations for our energy market in order to incentivize energy efficiency, as well as adopting a 鈥�Race to the Top鈥�-style framework to challenge state and local governments to boost energy productivity.

And if, 50 years after Earth Day began, we want to see more Americans say they care about the environment than do now, it would be key to instill such an ethic in the nation's youths, ensuring that the generations who would be most affected by today鈥檚 environmental policy tomorrow are fully invested in Earth Day 鈥� and their Earth.