First Earth Day 40 yrs Ago Today in Castleton NY 12033

Today is the 40th Earth Day. Richard Nixon signed it into law the year before. The world was in somewhat more of an activist mood back then. Maple Hill High School canceled classes that day and we had seminars on the environment. Topics included Hudson River pollution , overpopulation , smog etc. In the afternoon the student body fanned out and picked up trash in and around the school area. Bottles , paper and an old car starter were picked up. The world was a much more smoggier , dirtier , more polluted place then. Castleton was cited in a NYT magazine article as the biggest polluter in the Hudson River Valley. Our paper plant put out tons of waste into the river then and the specialty metal factory Anti-Corrosive put out it's share of soot and river dumpings. Added to that was open sewer pipes leading to river. There was no unleaded gas back then so automotive pollution was much higher. By the way nobody much complained about smoking as so many people smoked that everywhere smelled like smoke. The world has changed from that first Earth Day. We are now used to the world smelling better and being cleaner. I will be dead 40yrs from now , and as always where will we be?