This year marks another Earth Day milestone, and in many ways, we are back in 1969—the year before the first Earth Day—standing on the edge of a new environmental awakening and a battle for the Earth’s future. In some ways, we need to look back at that moment to better understand what happened then and where we are going today.

For me, this is not just history—it is personal. Growing up on the Newark–Hillside border, I saw firsthand what pollution does to communities. I learned early about environmental racism, classism, and how poor and working-class communities are forced to carry the burden of dirty air, contaminated water, and toxic waste. I spent summers in Ringwood, New Jersey, where you could drink water from the streams—versus Newark, where you could throw a match and watch the stream flare.

My family were old-style activists, and I had good training. I learned that you have to organize, fight back, and hold those in power accountable. That is what shaped my life as an environmental activist.

The Wake-Up Calls That Sparked a Movement

There was a series of wake-up calls in the United States before the first Earth Day. The Santa Barbara oil spill and the Cuyahoga River fire created a national public outcry. Dirty air days were so bad that in some places residents wore surgical masks. In New Jersey, beaches were being closed because of raw sewage, and waterways in the 1960s would run different colors from the dumping of paints and dyes.

The Santa Barbara spill in 1969 marked the birth of the modern environmental movement. An oil rig explosion off the California coast dumped 3 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, creating a 35-mile oil slick that killed thousands of birds, fish, and sea mammals. Images of that devastation shocked the nation.

That same year, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland burned. It wasn’t the first time, but it became the most famous. It became a symbol of rampant water pollution and a tipping point where people said enough is enough.

In New Jersey, along the Raritan River, companies like Benjamin Moore dumped blue and green paint into the water to improve the look for fishermen—while making the fish unsafe to eat. Under the Driscoll Bridge, the water appeared in different colors of the rainbow depending on what had been dumped that day. That was the reality of unregulated pollution.

Fighting Back and Winning Change

The environmental activism that followed produced real results. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was adopted in 1969, requiring environmental impact statements for major projects. The Council on Environmental Quality was also created. Soon after came the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Legal precedents were also set. The Sierra Club sued to stop a proposed power plant atop Storm King Mountain in New York. For the first time, courts recognized environmental harm as a valid reason to challenge a project, even without economic loss. That case helped open the door for environmental litigation across the country.

It also inspired Pete Seeger, the legendary folk singer and activist, to launch the Clearwater organization and build the sloop Clearwater to clean up the Hudson River. He once told me he would have joined the Sierra Club—except there were too many rules and meetings.

Here in New Jersey, battles over highways and development were a major catalyst for change. Route 95 was proposed to run right over the D&R Canal. Route 78 was set to cut through the Watchung Reservation, and Route 287 threatened the Highlands. Governor Brendan Byrne stopped those projects, but Governor Tom Kean later restored two while saving the D&R Canal.

Those fights helped lead to reforms and protections. New Jersey’s first open space plan came out in 1969. The Skylands Conservation Act was introduced to protect the Highlands. It did not pass after the sponsor died, but it laid the groundwork for future protections of the Highlands and Pinelands. There was also a major public outcry against a proposed jetport in the Great Swamp.

Earth Day and Political Power

It was at a UNESCO conference in 1969 that peace activist John McConnell first proposed a global Earth Day. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson then founded the first Earth Day as an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970.

More than 20 million people participated. Many were too young to vote, but they learned how to organize and get involved politically.

That movement targeted the “dirty dozen” members of Congress who opposed environmental protections. We defeated seven out of the twelve, including the Majority Whip, sending shockwaves across Washington. That political pressure helped lead to the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the creation of the EPA.

That is when I became deeply politically active. As a student, I helped organize a cleanup of the Elizabeth River. I joined the New Democratic Coalition—the Indivisible of its time—and worked to elect pro-environment leaders like Mayor Alex Menza of Hillside, who later became a State Senator. Others included Betty Wilson, who became Deputy DEP Commissioner, and Jerry English, who also became a State Senator.

That movement helped New Jersey pass landmark laws like the Pinelands Act and the Spill Act.

It taught me something I have never forgotten: activism without political action, you lose. You have to organize, register voters, and vote to create real change.

Déjà Vu: The Climate Crisis Today

Today, we are seeing a similar moment. There is a growing sense of urgency about climate impacts and Trump’s war on the environment. However, we are not seeing the same level of environmental activism as we are on other issues. The big green groups are like deer caught in the headlights, just standing there, while at the local level thousands of grassroots groups are battling on dozens of issues.

The last five years have been the hottest on record. Our oceans are warming 40 percent faster than previously thought, generating more intense and frequent extreme weather. Flooding is getting worse—New Jersey ranks number one in the nation in flood damage based on density, and number two in building in flood-prone areas.

In New Jersey, we are experiencing more flooding, along with serious health impacts, including higher asthma rates and increases in Lyme disease.

At the same time, environmental justice remains a central issue. Communities already overburdened by pollution are the ones most impacted by climate change, air pollution, toxic sites, and public health crises.

Trump’s War on the Environment

At the same time, all of the progress we have made over the last 56 years is under attack.

The Trump Administration has declared war on the environment—on clean air and water, on cleaning up toxic sites, and on fighting climate change. They have eliminated or rolled back more than 150 rules and regulations, from greenhouse gas limits to allowing more mercury pollution. They have opened public lands to logging, mining, and drilling, stopped cleanup of toxic sites, and even allowed PFAS to be sprayed on crops. They have proposed massive cuts to the EPA, NOAA, the National Park Service, and more.

They are opening public lands and coasts for drilling and pushing pipelines through without proper environmental review.

When you eliminate clean air protections, our air becomes poisoned. When you allow dumping into our rivers, our water becomes poisoned. When you cut programs for lead, children get poisoned.

These are real consequences—not political talking points.

Sherrill Following a Republican Path on the Environment

Governor Sherrill has raised serious concerns on the environment and energy policy. Instead of working to improve our environment, we are seeing a lot of lip service while actual policies head in the wrong direction—under the guise of affordability, advancing a dangerous corporate polluter and developer agenda. We have to fight not just at the federal level, but at the state level.

• DEP Funding Cuts: A proposed 23% reduction in the DEP budget—from $650 million to $502 million—including a $15 million cut to operations.
• Rolling Back Protections: Executive actions, including a 90-day freeze and “Red Tape Review,” mirror federal tactics used to weaken environmental oversight.
• Permit Privatization: Moves to allow private consultants—often working for developers—to write and review their own permits.
• Environmental Waivers: Critical protections for flood hazards and clean water are being bypassed through waivers and compressed timelines.
• Public Lands: Calls to privatize public lands and expand logging, without proper planning to address sprawl and overdevelopment.
• Permitting Overrides: “Shot clocks” and fast-tracked permits that sidestep public input and the legislative process.
• Permitting Czar: Consolidation of power into a COO-style permitting authority.
• Clean Energy Fund Raids: Diverting funds meant for climate and clean energy programs.
• Energy Policy Failures: Delaying solar programs while fast-tracking fossil fuel infrastructure.
• Nuclear Expansion: Lifting restrictions on nuclear power—the most expensive and dangerous way to boil water—without a solution for radioactive waste.

Time for Action and Voting

People have been outraged by these attacks and are showing up at protests and demonstrations. But it is not enough to protest—we need to turn that energy into real change.

We need to organize, mobilize, and vote like we did in 1970.

Polls show that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe climate change is a real threat, and 85% of New Jersey residents are concerned about drinking water. People care about the environment—now they need to vote on it.

We must make the environment a political issue. We must hold our elected officials accountable, including members of Congress like Tom Kean Jr., who used to vote for the environment and now does not, and Jeff Van Drew, who has one of the worst environmental records in Congress.

At the state level, we must push the Sherrill Administration to do more—not just make promises, but stop privatizing and fast-tracking permits, implement strong rules, and stop bad proposals like SCR 106.

We need to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2050, get off fossil fuels, stop nuclear subsidy bills, pass the Climate Superfund Act, expand electric vehicle infrastructure and solar, enact a moratorium on data centers, strengthen flood rules, implement regional coastal planning, and tackle PFAS, overdevelopment, and sprawl.

A Moment of Truth

Fifty-six years ago, people stood up and demanded action to clean our air and water and stop reckless pollution. The first Earth Day symbolized that effort, and real environmental reforms followed.

I have spent my life in this fight, and I have seen what people power can accomplish. But I have also seen how quickly progress can be rolled back.

Today, people need to rise again. Stop being Zoom chair warriors—we need to get back to the basics: grassroots organizing, protests, and holding elected officials accountable. We need to rebuild the movement from the bottom up.

The lessons of 1969 remind us what can be accomplished when we make our voices heard.

Earth Day was never meant to be just a celebration—it was a call to action.

And now, more than ever, we must answer that call.

Jeff Tittel
Environmental and Political Activist former Director NJ Sierra Club