Former Sen. Gaylord Nelson forced environmental issues into the minds of the American public.

Before Al Gore and his inconvenient truths, before elementary school teachers drilled the “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” slogan into students’ heads and even before Captain Planet pledged to take pollution down to zero, Nelson started Earth Day to raise environmental awareness and challenge the American public to educate itself about environmental issues.

The first Earth Day in this country was observed on April 22, 1970. After several years of trying, and failing, to educate the oblivious American public about caring for the environment, the senator from Wisconsin thought a nation-wide grass roots demonstration might do the trick. More than 20 million demonstrators and thousands of local school and communities participated, and April 22 was never the same.

Earth Day began small and morphed into the national phenomenon it is today. Google changed its theme on its main Web page to a rocky and lush stream scene, President George W. Bush, like past presidents, planted a tree and the three candidates hoping for Bush’s job each used the opportunity to discuss environmental issues and why a vote for them is the best solution for the environment.

But once the Earth Day excitement, politicizing and charge to be environmentally aware wears off, the importance of being good stewards of the world does not.

According to a report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850. Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880 and the U.S. carbon emissions are projected to rise over the next two decades.

Hopefully, a leader will be elected that recognizes the country’s environmental slippery slope and implement policies forcing this country to become a leader in environmental awareness and action. But one can’t just wait for the government to fix our problems; it takes personal devotion and the courage to change one’s life.

Picking up a piece of litter, using a reusable bag at the grocery store, recycling or switching to energy-saving light bulbs are simple ways to do ones part.

Unlike Captain Planet, we cannot erase pollution with our superpowers; our magic ring is a pledge to do more than celebrate one day.