“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality, and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.”  —Gaylord Nelson

On April 22, 1970, more than 20 million Americans participated in what is believed to be the largest single-day protest in the country’s history. Ten percent of the United States took to the streets in marches and rallies, attended demonstrations, and participated in educational programming at over 2,000 colleges and 10,000 schools. In an unprecedented display of unity, this chorus of voices came together to raise awareness for the planet: the first Earth Day.

According to Sen. Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, “The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy.” And it was wildly successful, even across partisan lines. Later that year, the Environmental Protection Agency was established, and the Clean Air Act was signed into law, followed by the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act the year after. And this was all under Republican President Richard Nixon. 

More than half a century after the first Earth Day catalyzed the creation of the EPA and these protections, they are now under significant threat. The Trump administration’s all-out assault on environmental regulation seeks to roll back emissions limits, weaken endangered species and habitat protections, defund environmental justice programs, and slash jobs at the EPA and similar agencies—putting both human and more-than-human life at risk. 

Just this week, the Trump administration moved to attack the Endangered Species Act by redefining a crucial word: harm. On Wednesday, a proposed rule was announced to repeal the established understanding that prohibiting harm to endangered species includes destroying their habitats. This would allow the U.S. to increase drilling, logging, and development. The idea that razing one’s environment doesn’t constitute harm speaks volumes to the crisis we are now in. 

How do we facilitate healing when we can’t even agree on the definition of harm? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I know that healing has more to do with coming together than being torn apart. As much as environmentalism has become a staunchly partisan issue, it wasn’t always—and it doesn’t have to be. We need to rekindle the spirit of unity that the first Earth Day sparked, inspiring people everywhere to come together for our only home. The battle lines between political parties will mean nothing when they are drawn on barren soil. 

We need to resist these rollbacks while also working to stop the pendulum from swinging so violently while the planet suffers in the center. Creating a more expansive environmental movement will require us to adapt our storytelling and welcome as many people as possible. Can we broaden our message across shared values? Can we listen to the concerns of those worried about being left behind? Can we focus on the economic benefits of renewables? Can we shift the narrative from “we’re doomed unless” to “look what we can achieve together”?

As another Earth Day approaches, I’m reflecting on what I would consider to be the ultimate goal of the environmental movement: to become obsolete. Liberal or conservative, I dream of a world in which no one is an environmentalist because everyone is—a world where being human has become synonymous with being respectful caretakers of the planet and all other life forms, including one another.  In other words, my hope for environmentalism is that one day we will no longer need it. And to get there, we need everyone.