Earth Day to be celebrated

April 22 marks the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, and Long Beach has no shortage of events to celebrate the occasion.

The Kaleidoscope 2000 fair at Cal State Long Beach on April 29 will have an entire section dedicated to Earth Day.

Kaleidoscope Coordinator DeVon Davis said the Audubon Society, Audubon Nature Center, Los Cerritos Wetlands and Peter Carr Peace Center are scheduled to have booths at the fair.

"We will also have recycling and tobacco awareness tables, games for kids and food booths," Davis said.

Also  on April 22, several other organizations in Long Beach will commemorate the event.

The Aquarium of the Pacific will celebrate with conservation displays, several activities for adults and children and live music and entertainment from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Los Cerritos Wetlands is hosting a wetlands cleanup and species survey from 8 to 11 a.m.

Scherer Park on Long Beach Blvd. will feature a picnic with music, talks by local environmental groups and peaceful protesting to raise awareness.

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 to stress the importance of conservation of the world's natural resources, according to the 1998 Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia.

The event has helped create several environmental programs such as Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970 and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in 1971, according to the encyclopedia.

Legislation was also affected by Earth Day, according to the encyclopedia. The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and the National Environmental Protection Act in 1970 were passed. The Clean Water Act was created in 1972 and in 1973 the Endangered Species Act was passed.

Earth Day also played a part in the 1992 release of the United Nations document "Warning to Humanity," according to the encyclopedia. The article states "human beings and the natural world are on a collision course which may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner we know."

Earth Day celebrations

• The Aquarium of the Pacific will celebrate with conservation displays, live music and entertainment from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 
• The Los Cerritos Wetlands is hosting a wetlands cleanup and species survey from 8 to 11 a.m.

 
• Scherer Park will feature a picnic with music and talks by local environmental groups.

 
• The Kaleidoscope 2000 fair on April 29 will have a section dedicated to Earth Day, with booths from the Audubon Society, Audubon Nature Center, Los Cerritos Wetlands and Peter Carr Peace Center.