Alexandria, VA, April 22, 2003 -- The Water Environment Federation (WEF) joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other U.S. government agencies in commemorating Earth Day 2003 on Tuesday, April 22.
Commemoration of this event is an excellent opportunity to reflect upon past successes, strive for improvements, and expand the public's knowledge of their role in protecting and preserving the global environment.
The theme for Earth Day 2003 is "Action for a Healthy Environment" and encourages a call to action for environmental stewardship in all communities. This theme supports the primary goal of WEF, a not-for-profit technical and educational organization, and the water quality community to protect public health and ensure good environmental stewardship.
"As leaders in the effort to protect public health and improve our nation's water environment for 75 years, WEF remains committed to meeting the water quality challenges of today to ensure that a healthy global environment is preserved into the future", said WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera.
The first Earth Day was held in New York City on April 22, 1970. An estimated 20 million Americans gathered to participate in a well-publicized environmental demonstration to show the political leadership of the Nation that there was broad and deep support for the environmental movement. Since then, national Earth Day has become an embodiment of the public's support and commitment to save the global environment.
The Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Water Quality Improvement Act, and the Water Pollution and Control Act Amendments are just a few examples of the legislation that has been enacted into law over the past thirty-three years in efforts to take responsibility for and protect the environment. While these milestones are great accomplishments, it is also important to remember that every day is Earth Day and a commitment to environmental stewardship is vital in protecting Earth for generations to come.
For more information about Earth Day in your community, please visit the Earth Day 2003 website at www.earthday.gov and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website at http://www.epa.gov/earthday/. For information about WEF and its efforts to preserve and enhance the global water environment, please visit www.wef.org.
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in more than 30 countries.
