An Hour of Earth
A (((HearingVoices))) radio special

[Contact your public radio station for local broadcast dates and times.]

The first Earth Day was thirty-two years ago. "April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy," wrote American Heritage magazine. "Twenty million people demonstrated their support. American politics and public policy would never be the same again." U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day "announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air -- and they did so with spectacular exuberance."

The thirty-second annual Earth Day is Monday, April 22, 2002. "An Hour of Earth" is a sixty-minute HearingVoices.com radio special for the week of Earth Day. Take a walk of on the wild side with some of public radio's best independent producers: canoeing Wyoming's Green River (Scott Carrier), samba frogs in Brazil (Tom-Lopez- ZBS), a subterranean supper (Sarah Vowell), two shows on courting and camping with killer whales (Jay Allison, Barrett Golding), and an environmental macrocosmic minute (Andrei Codrescu).

HearingVoices.com specials are crafted from new and classic radio shows. Fundors include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Endowment for the Arts. HearingVoices.com is a project of Tundra Club, a non-profit corporation that supports independent production for public broadcasting, film and web.

The official date of Earth Day every year is 22 April. Earth Day events are often planned for the weekends around 22 April. In 2002, Earth Day is a Monday. Some communities and groups schedule environmental activities during the entire Earth Week (the week before Earth Day) or Earth Month (April).

SHOW SEGMENTS & SAMPLES (56K Audio®)

Sarah Vowell- Underground Lunchroom
Scott Carrier- Green River Stories
Tom Lopez (ZBS)- Singing Frogs
Jay Allison- Subtext: Communicating with Horses
Jay Allison- Killer Whales
Andrei Codrescu- The Environment
Barrett Golding- Blackfish

Image: View of Earth from Apollo 17, courtesy of NASA Educational Products.

WEB RESOURCES: Earth Day

Earth Day Network www.earthday.net
Wilderness Society Earth Day 2001 earthday.wilderness.org/
U.S. EPA Earth Day www.epa.gov/earthday/

(NOTE: For some groups Earth Day is not on April 22 but on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring (March 20 2002): International Earth Day www.earthsite.org .)

WEB RESOURCES: "An Hour on Earth" Producers

Scott Carrier- All Things Carrier
Tom Lopez- ZBS
Sarah Vowell- Consonant Vowells
Andrei Codrescu- Exquisite Corpse
Jay Allison- Animals & Other Stories
Barrett Golding- PressRecord.com

Image: View of Earth from Apollo 17, courtesy of NASA Educational Products.