We have
the good fortune this month of conducting an exclusive interview
with John McConnell. Mr. McConnell is 89 years old and has been
an avid environmental and peace activist for most of those years.
He is the son of an independent evangelist and his interest in
religion, science and peace has resulted in a number of projects
and personal efforts to relieve human suffering and promote the
common good of all the citizens of Earth. He is most renowned as
the founder of Earth Day and the popular Earth Flag that depicts
the planet Earth as seen from space on a dark blue background.
Mr. McConnell is distinguished by an upbeat personality and
outlook on life. He fervently believes in making a difference in
the world and ever seeks to understand the human potential and how
to use it to seek solutions to the critical problems facing the
Earth and its people.
Q. You are most well known as the founder of Earth Day. Can you
tell us a little about the significance of that day and how it
came into existence?
In
1968, I had designed the popular Earth Flag after seeing the first
photo of Earth from space in Life magazine. "We set out to
explore Space and discovered Earth." Later in 1969, I was working
to elevate individual and international support for Earth
stewardship at the National UNESCO Conference that was taking
place in San Francisco. It was during that meeting that I first
proposed to a world forum the concept of an Earth Day to celebrate
Earth’s life and beauty and to alert the world’s people to the
need for preserving and renewing the threatened ecological
balances upon which all life on Earth depends.
In
September of 1969, I proposed Earth Day to the San Francisco Board
of Supervisors. The proposal won strong support and was followed
by an Earth Day Proclamation by the City of San Francisco. The
idea quickly had a groundswell of acceptance and was advocated by
U. N. Secretary General U Thant, Margaret Mead and many others.
It was widely celebrated in schools and churches and received
government backing at every level. In a short time the
celebration day for the Earth spread worldwide. An Earth Flag was
even flown at the South Pole. Now decades later, the ringing of
the United Nations Peace Bell at the exact moment the March
Equinox arrives and inaugurates Earth Day -- and has become a
tradition. One thing I would like to stress is that Earth Day was
founded to further peace, justice and the care of Earth.
Sometimes today those important principles get lost in the shuffle
of the celebration.
Q. Can you elaborate on the significance of the equinox as the
date of celebration for Earth Day?
When the Board of supervisors endorsed the concept of Earth
Day the mayor asked me to pick a date and write an Earth Day
proclamation. Several dates ran through my mind. I began to
think about what things all the people of the world have in common
and I thought of nature. Wherever you live, even in the big
cities, you usually have some contact with nature at sometime each
day. Earth Day on the vernal equinox made historic sense.
Celebrations of the first day of spring go back to Stonehenge,
Persia, the Mayan civilization and ancient China. This is
nature's day when light and darkness are of equal length
worldwide. The symbolism of Earth Day, the equilibrium and balance
of the equinox, encourages cooperation. Then I thought of
Stonehenge and how the stones are aligned to indicate the solstice
and equinox. This is hundreds of years old and it’s just
incredible! So I called my wife and I told her, “I know when we
are going to have Earth Day, on the first day of spring!”
Immediately after that our house started shaking from a minor
earthquake. Confirmation I guess.
Q. Whatever happened to the Earth Day Proclamation the mayor
asked you to write?
I wrote it and it was widely published in 1971. Some of the
notable people who have signed it include the UN Secretary U Thant,
Margaret Mead, Senator Eugene McCarthy, astronaut Buzz Aldrin,
inventor Buckminster Fuller, writer Isaac Asimov, singer John
Denver and David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth.
Q. What type of profession did you pursue in your younger days
and did your work lead you to some of your beliefs?
In 1939, I partnered with Albert Nobell, a chemist, and
founded the Nobell Research Foundation in Los Angeles. I was the
Vice-president and business manager of our company, which first
developed a thermosetting plastic and later as we contemplated how
to conserve nature’s resources, created a plastic using walnut
shells.
In the mid fifties I partnered in the newspaper business with
Erling Toness, an editor from North Carolina. We were digging up
a lot of corruption and related violence in the Toe Valley area.
We wrote an expose, called “Trouble in the Toe Valley” that was
subsequently carried as a feature article by Life magazine.
We later relocated to California and published the “Mountain View”
paper. It was in California that my environmental and peace
activism began to really start playing a big part in my life.
Certainly my work contributed to the depths of my beliefs. The
more I saw of the underside of the world, the more I wanted to
help change it for the better and to promote peace, justice and
care of the Earth.
Q. Do you and your ideas still get good media attention?
Not as much as I would like. I don’t care for attention
myself, but I firmly believe that our current politicians are
leading us down a road they say is for peace but actually leads
only to increased war and suffering. They have their own agendas
and quickly subverted the true purposes of Earth Day. There have
been years where Earth Day and the Minute for Peace, which I also
initiated, have been well promoted by the UN and world and
national leaders. Other years it fades. For some years now the
importance and usefulness of these unifying actions have been
overshadowed by a rush to war and a right by might mentality.
Q. Did your ideals ever get in the way of your ambitions?
No, my ambitions have mostly been to do what I can to make
this world a better place for all mankind. My ideals are what
activate my mind and propel my actions.
Q. How did the Minute for Peace get started?
In 1963, I had been talking to Jules Dundes, a friend of mine
that was also the manager of a radio station in San Francisco. I
proposed that he create a program with some music and then a very
brief message about the importance of peace, followed by an
observed silence and a minute of contemplation and desire for
peace by all the listeners. He liked the idea and we started
looking for a date. Eleven days after our meeting, President
Kennedy was assassinated. A 30 day morning period was instituted
that was going to end on December 22nd, which just happened to
also be the winter solstice. I called Jules and we agreed that
would be the perfect time for the first Minute for Peace. So we
took the speech President Kennedy had made the year before at the
United Nations where he said, “Never have the nations of the
world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. Together we shall
save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. Save
it we can…and save it we must.”
We sought to promote it as a Minute for Peace all over the world
and that’s what happened. It has been celebrated on December 22nd
ever since. I hope all of your readers will remember to take a
special minute on this winter’s solstice to put out their thoughts
and energy to the world for peace.
Q. Is there any place today where our readers can obtain a
copy of that original Minute for Peace tape with Kennedy’s speech
and the bells in the background?
Yes, materials from all of my projects are available at the John
McConnell Peace Archive at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore,
Pennsylvania. (Swarthmore.edu)
Q. Many environmentalists refer to Senator Gaylord Nelson as the
founder of Earth Day. Others herald Denis Hayes as the founder.
April 22nd, the day Senator Nelson pushed in Congress, is now a
widely used date for the celebration -- instead of the Spring
equinox. What is the true story behind the conflicting claims and
dates?
When I made the proposal of Earth Day at the UNESCO Conference
on the Environment in San Francisco in 1969, there were two young
aides of Senator Nelson present. They were in town for the
"National Environmental Teach-in" he supported, which was going to
be held on April 22nd. After the conference the two young men
came up to me and said, “Earth Day is a great idea but you should
change the date to April 22nd.”
I said, “Absolutely not. The nature of this event is too important
as a global occasion.” But they suggested to the senator that
they change the name of their event -- Environmental Teach-In --
to Earth Day. It obviously had a better ring to it and they
quickly did. With this name and the support of Congress, his date
of April 22nd became the “official” Earth Day in the United
States. Denis Hayes is an environmental leader who simply put his
support behind political power instead of the more harmonious,
sensible date of the original Earth Day. However, the United
Nations, many countries and many cites in the United States
including San Francisco, continue to celebrate Earth Day on the
original date of the Spring Equinox in March.
I don’t discount the good intentions of many who promote the April
Earth Day. I know Senator Nelson has acknowledged that I created
Earth Day but claims mine was for peace and his is for ecology.
There are actually 3 themes we have always promoted: peace,
justice, and care for the Earth. Senator Nelson has also said
that by using the date of April 22nd, when the weather is nicer
and many children are on spring break, more people will celebrate
the day.1 But I think promoting his date defeats the larger good
that could be possible with the celebration. Besides the fact is
that it coincides with the ignominious date of Lenin’s birthday.
It creates confusion and dilutes money and volunteer time from the
authentic Earth Day that is meant to be celebrated worldwide.
If all the focus had been kept on the day of the spring equinox
the world would be well on its way to peace and prosperity. It is
a special day, simultaneous all over the world, at the moment the
sun is crossing the equator. The equinox Earth Day is a date that
unites the people of Earth because we all share the uniqueness of
that special day. It shouldn’t just be a day set up by the United
States with a date arbitrarily decreed for political and social
convenience.
Q. Considering the United States refusal to ratify the Kyoto
treaty, does this country still have any environmental credibility
in the world?
No, not at all. Among thinking people in the world, they
consider our country as the greatest threat to peace, justice and
environmental responsibility on the planet. This is so ironic
because at the birth of this country there was such great idealism
and great ideals.
Q. During the last 3 decades, a number of corporations have
participated in high-profile projects and donations to demonstrate
their environmental concern. Are we seeing a real trend toward
corporate environmental awareness or just more astute corporate
PR?
It’s mostly corporate PR but once in awhile you see real
corporate concern and laudable environmental action.
Q. What are your thoughts on President Bush?
Bush says he’s a Christian but he takes devilish actions. Our
country spends more on defense than the entire budgets of many
other countries. Think of the good that could be accomplished
here and the world at large, if a good portion of what is now
spent for weapons to kill and maim was used instead for projects
that uplift and enrich the people and the planet.
Q. With a detailed diagnosis such as you have made of many of the
world’s problems and rational solutions, have you ever run for
political office?
No, I haven’t. I was urged to run for President some time
ago, when I had a lot of political attention, but decided to
continue on the activist track I was on.
Q. What are the top three environmental problems facing the earth
today?
The greatest challenge is changing people’s current
attitudes. We need to change from Earth Kill to Earth Care.
There are also terrific problems with the oceans and the great
forests that must be addressed before it is too late to turn back
the clock. Just a little common sense, with foresight toward
sustainability, will go a long way. We need to get citizens of
every country thinking globally for peace, justice and care for
the earth, so there can be a great future for the whole human
family.
Q. What are some of the most important things you would like to
see enacted to further the conservation and environmental causes
in both the USA and the world?
I would love to see worldwide TV and radio carry the daily
Minute for Peace and during that program talk about the knowledge
we need to have and the choices we need to make to have a peaceful
and sustainable future. I wish the United Nations would go all
out to promote this. On my web site is the Earth Magna Carta,
which contains the foundational principles for the success of this
effort.
Q. What are one or more actions our readers can take right now
that will help to make the world a better place both directly in
their everyday life and also for the world at large?
What makes a difference is where the money goes, how they
choose to spend their money. Think about everything you buy.
Consider whether the environment needed to be destroyed to produce
that product. If the answer is “yes” don’t buy it. You are
voting with your pocketbook. In keeping with that, think about
ways you can conserve resources.
Q. Of course you are a hero to many people. They admire your
life-long activism, innovative thinking and the fact that you
offer solutions instead of just criticizing the problem. We would
like to give you this opportunity now for whatever parting words
you would like to give to our readers.
I’d like to end with a poem I memorized many years ago. It
has helped me to keep fighting for my ideals even when things were
not easy. Maybe I can pass it on and it will have a similar
effect for others who may read it.
Lord, give me the strength of the pioneer
and the faith of his hardy soul.
Provide me with the courage to persevere,
make me fight till I reach my goal.
Let others indulge in a weakling’s life,
where they curse when their luck goes bad.
But fit me for battle with storm and strife.
Give me brawn like my fathers had.
I want to be known as a man who wins,
As a fellow with nerve and pluck,
Who finishes everything he begins
And is one who can whip his luck.
John McConnell