In September 1969 in Seattle, Washington, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson first proposed a nationwide environmental protest to thrust the environment onto the national agenda. Nelson announced an environmental “teach-in” coordinated from his senatorial office in the late spring. On April 22, 1970, Arbor Day activities were modified to emphasize the critical importance of the environment and to make the American public aware of the destruction of the earth’s natural preserves. On that first “Earth Day” 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. The first Earth Day influenced the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.
Over the past 38 years, Earth Day has been celebrated around the world by hundreds of millions of people committed to concern about the environment and preserving the natural world for generations to come.
The Livingston Weekly recently asked the community to participate in a digital photography contest to commemorate Earth Day 2008 here in Livingston. The theme of the contest, as in years past, was “Last Best Places,” a term often associated with Montana’s untouched wilderness. The Weekly encouraged photographers to go outside the state lines and look at the larger picture of the Earth, and submit photography that celebrated the many places on the globe still abundant with nature, or places which may have special significance in the photographer’s dialogue with the Earth.
As ecosystems across the planet are intrinsically linked, the wildness of Montana is only representative of many remaining places on Earth still significant to humans. We received submissions of animals, sunsets, forests, rivers and meadows in Montana and around the world, and each photograph portrayed a unique connection each artist had with their subject matter. Hopefully, these photographs and reflections lead to a greater appreciation of the Earth as well as a commitment to help preserve this very special place in the universe.
Photography is a powerful medium that can reflect the beauty of the natural world as well as the many critical issues facing the environment and our role in both the destruction and the preservation of the Earth’s forests, mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans.
We would like to thank the over 60 photographers who submitted their images and visions of the Earth for this issue. Through other’s eyes we can sometimes see our place and other places in a new light. We hope these images inspire and remind viewers just how precious our Earth is.