By David Kirk, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Earth Day used to be fun.
“Back then it was kind of fun. We had a parade downtown — it was a celebration, now it’s a catastrophe,” said Paul Edwards, an adjunct professor at Fairmont State University.
Edwards, a retired professor and administrator at Fairmont State, teaches a course at Fairmont State called, “The Future Global Crisis.”
“I started teaching the course, ‘The Ecology of Man’ here at Fairmont State in 1968,” said Edwards. “The course has evolved into what I now call ‘The Future Global Crisis.’”
Edwards launched Fairmont State’s first celebration of Earth Day in 1970. The campus and community held presentations, showed films and marched in local parades.
“We’ve been winning battles ever since, but we’re still losing the war,” said Edwards. “The new Green State Guide ranked West Virginia as the least ‘green’ state.”
Activism for this kind of issue starts with a conversation. That’s what the West Virginia Climate Change Professional Development program is trying to do…
