Gaylord Nelson is gone

[richlevy]

Former Senator Who Founded Earth Day Dies

A conservationist years before it became fashionable, Nelson was recognized as one of the world's foremost environmental leaders. Then- President Clinton presented Nelson with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 for his environmental efforts.

"As the father of Earth Day, he is the grandfather of all that grew out of that event: the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act," read the proclamation from Clinton.

On my list of well-deserved and are-you-kidding recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this man falls into the first category. He understood that the things we need the most, clean water and air, are also the things we take for granted and which can be taken away from us.

Here is a profile at the Wilderness Society

In 1995 he received the nation's highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "As the father of Earth Day, he is the grandfather of all that grew out of that event: the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act," said the proclamation from President Clinton.
In 1992 the United Nations Environment Programme presented Gaylord Nelson with the Only One World Award.
In 1990 he recieved the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, bestowed upon a federal official who has shown exceptional commitment to the cause of conservation and the fostering of an American land ethic.

He sponsored or co-sponsored countless conservation bills, including the Wilderness Act and the Alaska Lands Act. In Wisconsin, his U.S. Senate legacy includes the St. Croix Wild and Scenic Riverway and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Nelson also was a trailblazer in consumer protection, especially involving prescription medicines. He was one of only three Senators to vote against the $700 million appropriation that signaled the start of the ground war in Vietnam.

It's too bad he died during this administration, which is quietly gutting the policies and ethics he stood for. Maybe in another ten years we will realize where we are headed and move back to respecting what G-d gave us.