What did you do on Earth Day 2000? It was cold and rainy in Montpelier. I had a tough time deciding what I would do. Should I don layers of fleece, drive forty miles to Burlington and listen to speeches in 40 degree dampness? Or should I sit by my wood stove sending particulates into the sky and watch Earth Day 2000 festivities in D.C. on CSPAN? After all, this year's theme was global warming and clean air.

The press was calling the Environmental Movement middle aged. Reading Paul Ehrlich's Population Bomb on Earth Day 1970 got me started. Yes, this was a test of my activist muster, and no, neither I nor the movement is middle--aged, but I gave in to warmth and joined the crowds on the National Mall, glad for the larger perspective.

By now you have seen the reports and reflections. In spite of the ugly weather in D.C. the crowds swelled as the afternoon went on. It was a passage. Veteran enviros met the next generation. The glue that held "the movement" together over the years was there ---- Carole King, David Crosby, James Taylor and, of course, Peter, Paul and Mary. But the baton is being passed. Leonardo Di Caprio, this year's Earth Day Chair, brought screams from the teens. Bill Nye the Science Guy engaged the little ones perched on larger shoulders. Monica and the Indigo Girls injected contemporary music into the celebration. And Robert Kennedy, Jr. and John Kerry pointed to Capitol Hill while Winona LaDuke spoke, as only Winona can do, the real grit of activism. We were blessed that Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day Founder and now 82, was there to remind us that the movement's roots are deep and strong. And Dennis Hayes, who was a college student when he teamed up with Gaylord in 1970, has with his genius and leadership spread the Earth Day celebration around the world. Yes, environment is part of nearly every American's consciousness. But....BUT...are we really succeeding?

Printed below is what Donella Meadows thought about Earth Day 2000. And while it is true that the hybrid cars will hit the roads soon, and other technologies are offering some real environmental opportunities, the truth of the matter is that technology alone is not going to solve our problems and make us sustainable.

PERSONAL ACTIONS.... POLITICAL ACTIONS... and they all start at home, at the local level, in your towns and cities and back woods. All in all, even though we are making solid strides toward a greener society, I get impatient. Impatient for more action. Impatient to know that John and Jean Q. Citizen are conscientiously buying green and rejecting wasteful living. ŠRead Donella's "take" on Earth Day. What more can NEGEF do to help this readership spark action, more action? What are fun, creative and positive ways to foster community change? Individual change? PERSONAL ACTIONS....POLITICAL ACTIONS! Keep up the great work, Grassroots Activists. Happy Earth Day Birthday! Keep those great projects coming. ...And a special thanks to those of you NEGEF grantees who organized events in your communities. Of five Maine groups listed on the Earth Day Network web site, two -- Coalition for Sensible Energy and South Portland Land Trust -- are members of the NEGEF Network.