[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 27, 2010)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 21977-21978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9818]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 27, 2010 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 21977]]


                Proclamation 8503 of April 21, 2010

                
Earth Day, 2010

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In the fall of 1969, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson 
                announced plans for a national ``environmental teach-
                in''--one day, each year, of action and advocacy for 
                the environment. His words rallied our Nation, and the 
                first Earth Day, as it became known, saw millions come 
                together to meet one of the greatest challenges of our 
                times: caring for our planet. What Senator Nelson and 
                the other organizers believed then, and what we still 
                believe today, is that our environment is a blessing we 
                share. Our future is inextricably bound to our planet's 
                future, and we must be good stewards of our home as 
                well as one another.

                On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we come together 
                to reaffirm those beliefs. We have come far in these 
                past four decades. One year before the first Earth Day, 
                our Nation watched in horror as the polluted and 
                debris-choked Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught 
                fire. In response, a generation of Americans stepped 
                forward to demand progress. What Americans achieved in 
                the decades that followed has made our children 
                healthier, our water and air cleaner, and our planet 
                more livable.

                We passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, 
                established the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
                safeguarded treasured American landscapes. Americans 
                across our country have witnessed the impact of these 
                measures, including the people of Cleveland, where the 
                Cuyahoga River is cleaner than it has been in a 
                century.

                We continue to build on this progress today. My 
                Administration has invested in clean energy and clean 
                water infrastructure across the country. We are also 
                committed to passing comprehensive energy and climate 
                legislation that will create jobs, reduce our 
                dependence on foreign oil, and cut carbon pollution.

                We have more work to do, however, and change will not 
                come from Washington alone. The achievements of the 
                past were possible because ordinary Americans demanded 
                them, and meeting today's environmental challenges will 
                require a new generation to carry on Earth Day's cause. 
                From weatherizing our homes to planting trees in our 
                communities, there are countless ways for every 
                American, young and old, to get involved. I encourage 
                all Americans to visit WhiteHouse.gov/EarthDay for 
                information and resources to get started.

                The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is an opportunity for 
                us to reflect on the legacy we have inherited from 
                previous generations, and the legacy that we will 
                bestow upon generations to come. Their future depends 
                on the action we take now, and we must not fail them. 
                Forty years from today, when our children and 
                grandchildren look back on what we did at this moment, 
                let them say that we, too, met the challenges of our 
                time and passed on a cleaner, healthier planet.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 22, 2010, as 
                Earth Day. I encourage all Americans to participate in 
                programs and

[[Page 21978]]

                activities that will protect our environment and 
                contribute to a healthy, sustainable future.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2010-9818
Filed 4-26-10; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W0-P