Today is Earth Day, an event originated in America 37 years ago and now celebrated worldwide.

In one sign of the day's global significance, the Chinese government recently mandated that all local governments and provinces commemorate Earth Day.

Given that many of our most pressing environmental problems are global in scope, this might be an important development.

The best precedent for global solutions might be the worldwide transition away from compounds that worsen the hole in the earth's ozone layer. Recent studies have shown the hole returning to normal, enabling the ozone layer to continue protecting us from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

In America, rising environmental awareness represented by Earth Day has led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and many other changes, with effects that can be seen and felt locally. For example, the banning of DDT is now leading to the return of bald eagles to the Channel Islands and even to inland waters like Lake Casitas.

Local impact

Environmental initiatives at the state level have also led to local changes. For example, a 1989 mandate that every city and county divert half its waste away from landfills led to curbside and other recycling programs in every neighborhood of Ventura County.

Locally originated environmental efforts have also affected our daily lives, such as the preservation of open space by conservancies, development set-asides and ordinances throughout Ventura County.

Taking part in Earth Day events continues this momentum toward environmental progress.

-- The city of Oxnard estimates 3,000 people attended its Earth Day event in Plaza Park on April 14.

-- The Auto Club's Great Battery Roundup, which started last week and ends today, has collected dozens of auto batteries in Ventura County.

-- The city of Thousand Oaks' Arbor Day/Earth Day event Saturday at Conejo Creek Park North featured dozens of environmental and community organizations, as well as vendors of eco-friendly products and a display of earth-friendly vehicles that use new technologies to save resources.

-- Santa Paula's grant-funded program to recycle tires and create safer playgrounds concludes its public park installation phase this Friday with the completion of surfacing at Teague Park.

Coming events

CSU Channel Islands' central quad will be the center of an Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. On April 29, the city of Ventura is co-sponsoring an Earth Day event with the Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education. That event, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mission Park, will focus on solutions to global warming.

There are many other opportunities to implement the ideas promoted at Earth Day events. Sometimes action can best be coordinated through group efforts.

The Conejo Valley features a variety of gardening clubs. Thousand Oaks Recycling Coordinator Stan Hakes noted at the city's Earth Day event that the clubs all focus on the importance of clean water, air and soil, encouraging gardeners to "learn about water conservation, organic pest control and other environmental issues."

The Las Flores Community Gardens club can be reached at 496- 2295 or carolbirdie@gmail.com; the Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens & Kids Adventure Garden at 494-7630 or http://www.conejogarden.org; and the Organic Garden Club and Conejo Valley Garden Club at 498-1623 or lill.lou@hotmail.com.

Another type of group activity for the environment is the Ventura Climate Care Options Organized Locally, or VCCOOL, through which groups of friends, neighbors or co-workers follow a program to "lose 5,000 pounds (of carbon emissions) in 30 days." For more information, call 984-2436 or e-mail mark@vccool.org.

Earth Day celebrates progress toward a better world and presents opportunities to keep our eyes on the environment.

On the Net:

http://www.aaa-calif.com/auto/maintain/07batterylist.aspx

http://www.vccool.org

http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd/index.html

— David Goldstein is an environmental resource analyst for the county of Ventura. Representatives of government or nonprofit agencies that want to submit articles on environmental topics for this column should contact Goldstein at 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.