In the 1960s, a serious environmental concern was a. the ozone hole b. air and water pollution c. ocean acidification
Gaylord Nelson was a. a Wisconsin senator b. an environmental journalist c. a student anti-war activist
Most of the Earth Day demonstrations took place at a. government offices b. factories c. university campuses
Discussion/essay questions
What are environmental protections like where you live? Are there changes you would like to see?
Indigenous cultures around the world have respected and protected nature for a long time. Why do you think it took so long for many national governments to recognize environmental impacts?
Transcript
Before the 1960s, many people knew very little about environmental damage. There were few regulations, and companies could contaminate natural areas without facing consequences. By the end of the decade, air and water pollution were becoming serious problems. An American senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson wanted to implement policies to protect the environment. Inspired by the effectiveness of anti-war protests at the time, Nelson decided to organize a day of educational demonstrations at university campuses to start a conversation about the environment. On April 22nd, 1970, millions of people attended demonstrations. Earth Day was held on April 22nd every year after that. The growing interest in the environment caused several policy changes in the US and around the world.
In 1975, a physics professor named Jack H. Hetherington wrote a paper about atomic behaviour. He was planning to submit this paper to a well-known scientific journal called the Physical Review Letters. However, when he was proofreading his work, he realized that he had unintentionally used the word “we” when writing about himself. Although this was a small , it was very problematic. The Physical Review Letters had a rule against the use of the word “we” unless the paper had multiple authors. Hetherington had written his entire paper on a typewriter, and he didn’t want to retype it all just to fix his error. Instead, he simply to credit another author. The author he chose was his cat, Chester. He changed Chester’s name to Felis Domesticus Chester Willard, shortened to F. D. C. Willard, to make it more . Hetherington’s plan worked, and his paper was published. Eventually, he admitted that the co-author was a cat, and even had Chester copies of the paper by making ink paw prints.
Comprehension questions
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Discussion/essay questions
Hetherington’s paper is now well-known, and has been quoted by many other researchers. Do you think that his paper would have been as successful if he hadn’t had a funny story to go with it?
Transcript
In 1975, a physics professor named Jack H. Hetherington wrote a research paper about atomic behaviour. He was planning to submit this paper to a well-known scientific journal called the Physical Review Letters. However, when he was proofreading his work, he realized that he had unintentionally used the word “we” when writing about himself. Although this was a small mistake, it was very problematic. The Physical Review Lettershad a rule against the use of the word “we” unless the paper had multiple authors. Hetherington had written his entire paper on a typewriter, and he didn’t want to retype it all just to fix his error. Instead, he simply decided to credit another author. The author he chose was his cat, Chester. He changed Chester’s name to Felis Domesticus Chester Willard, shortened to F. D. C. Willard, to make it more believable. Hetherington’s plan worked, and his paper was published. Eventually, he admitted that the co-author was a cat, and even had Chester sign copies of the paper by making ink paw prints.
