Earth Day Fresno 2024 offers bike repairs, test drives of EVs and more
BY ANDREA DE ZUBIRIA SPECIAL TO THE FRESNO BEE APRIL 07, 2024
Where can you spend a spring day in the San Joaquin Valley getting your bike fixed, trying out an electric vehicle and enjoying outdoor music while eating something good and good for you? All this and more will be found at Earth Day Fresno on Saturday, April 13 at Fresno City College.
The events will take place on the West Lawn by the Old Administration Building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year’s free festival is hosted by the Central Valley Young Environmental Advocates, the Environmental Collaborative of Central California and the Fresno City College Math, Science and Engineering Division.
If you want to know what local groups and government agencies are doing to address problems like plastic pollution, childhood asthma, climate change and the need to protect and improve natural habitats, Earth Day Fresno is a great place to learn and get involved.
Check out exhibitors like Ash Tree Green Burial, Central Valley Young Environmental Advocates, Grid Alternatives, Valley Clean Air Now, Valley STEM and more.
Looking for kid fun? They’ll enjoy making Chinese jump ropes, going on a scavenger hunt, face painting and other fun activities in the Kids’ Zone. Everyone can join in the African Drum Circle.
It’s always nice to shop for a cause. The Citizens’ Climate Lobby Fresno yard sale will offer bargains on gently used housewares, tools, clothes and more. Your purchases will help send students to leadership training and to meet with Valley members of Congress in Washington, D.C. this June. The group advocates for effective bipartisan policies to address climate change.
The fundraiser sale at Vegan Fresno Meet-Up will benefit the popular BuaTong Thai Vegan Restaurant that had to shut down due to a kitchen fire.
If you ride your bike to the festival, it’s convenient to leave it with the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition’s “bicycle valet.” They’ll give you hands-on help with repairs, too.
If you want to try out one of the clean air vehicles provided by local dealerships, you might want to get there early. Space is limited for the ride-and-drive event.
This is the second year that Earth Day Fresno will be held at City College. Besides being a great location with its historic buildings and shade from mature trees, it is fitting that this event is on a college campus. In 1970, the first Earth Day was created by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to bring attention to the surprising lack of protections that our country had for the water, soil and air that we all rely on for our survival. April 22 was chosen for the official date of Earth Day, in part because the focus was on activating and informing college students. At that time, April 22 would not interfere with college exams, holidays or spring break.
In the wake of a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast in 1969 (due to waived safety measures) and the growing awareness of other environmental hazards, 20 million Americans took to the streets and college campuses in protest that first Earth Day.
In response, then-Republican President Richard Nixon approved the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970. This resulted in the Clean Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act — the current laws that keep companies from doing things like allowing runoff of toxic chemicals into streams or sending plumes of carcinogenic smoke into the air.
These days an estimated 1 billion people participate in Earth Week events that are both celebratory and serious, all over the world, in order to highlight environmental issues. Come out April 13 to Fresno City College and support all the local volunteers and vendors at Earth Day Fresno.
Andrea De Zubiria, PT, is a health care provider and volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby Fresno and The League of Women Voters of Fresno County.
Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article287426730.html#storylink=cpy
