Each year for the past 50 years, Earth Day has been a day set aside to remember the importance of being good stewards of our natural resources. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin helped to establish the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. This year marks the 27th year that the Aeronautical Center has taken time to remember it. Although social distancing guidelines and telework mandates prevent us from having a physical celebration on the Center, the importance of taking care of our environment and conserving our energy resources still remains a priority.
The Office of Facility Management (AMP) had planned another celebration this year with even more information about preserving our environment, energy, and natural resources. However, due to social distancing, we will not have our on-site celebration this year. Instead this is a good time to look back and see how far we’ve come.
Below is a chart with a few metrics related to Earth Day today - compared to 50 years ago. Please note that there are a number of metrics that are captured better today than they were in 1970. For instance, our cars are more fuel efficient, we have more acres of forest in the U.S, and we produce less CO2 per person than we did in the 1970’s. We also use less energy per person, which is amazing considering how much technology has changed. Remember that in 1970, the average household had only one TV, no microwave ovens, no computers or video games, and only one phone – a landline, and it was connected to the wall by a wire!
| 1970 | Today | |
|---|---|---|
| Average Vehicle MPG (EIA) | 11.9 mpg | 24.9 mpg |
| Gasoline Cost per Gallon (EPA) | $0.36 | $2.60 (2019) |
| Cost of a brand new Ford Mustang (Google) | $2,822 | $26,395 (2019) |
| Acres of Forest in the U.S. (U.S. Forest Svc) | 750 | 766 (2017) |
| U.S. Energy Consumption per Capita, MBTUs (EIA) | 331 | 300 (2017) |
| U.S. Renewable Energy Production, TBTUs (EIA) | 4,070 | 11,645 (2019) |
| U.S. Energy Expenditure per Capita, $ (EIA) | $404 | $3,495 |
| U.S. CO2 Emissions per Capita, MT CO2 (EIA) | 20.8 | 15.8 (2017) |
Note: To be fair, taking the cost of all goods/services relative to the value of the dollar into account, the differences in costs shown above would not be as large in contrast. For example, in today’s dollars, gasoline in 1970 would have been equivalent to $1.72/gallon and the brand new 1970 Mustang would’ve cost about $18,000.
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); U.S. Forest Service, Google
The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the FAA have also come a long way. For example, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 1975, the DOT used 19.3 trillion british thermal units (BTU’s) of energy; in 2018, the DOT only used 5.8 trillion BTU’s of energy. Again considering the changes in technology, this is pretty amazing. We’ve made incredible progress at the Aeronautical Center as well. Did you know that in 1995 an average building on the Center consumed over 192 BTU’s of energy per square foot? But in 2019, the average Aeronautical Center building only consumes a little over 98 BTU’s of energy per square foot! We are faring well, as that’s a 49% reduction!
Yes, we’ve come a long way, but we can still do more to preserve our natural resources. We can all have an impact on the environment by making environmentally friendly decisions on a day-to-day basis. Employees can continue the spirit of sustainable practices by turning off their computers and lights when leaving or stopping work for the day. We can participate in the Aeronautical Center Recycling Program or participate in Oklahoma City’s recycling program, we can report potential water leaks or energy waste to the AMP trouble desk at ext. 4-3687, or when teleworking, report water leaks to the City of OKC. With everyone’s help, we can continue to make a difference, protecting our nation’s natural resources, and taking care of the earth.
