Earth Day and the Courage to Lead
April 22, 2025 | Member Submitted
Written by Julie Reagan – TRPA
Lake Tahoe is leading the charge into Spring for all of us. Budding trees, songbirds, and warm days are bursting forth just in time for the 55th celebration of Earth Day next Tuesday. Started in 1970, the annual event is a touchstone for conservation, sustainability, and harmony between the natural and human environments. These are the principles on which the states of Nevada and California founded the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), also marking 55 years this year.
It was a courageous move. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Tahoe was undergoing an enormous building boom. Plans for freeways and a city the size of San Francisco encircling the lake were on the table. Fortunately, it was also a time when environmental science was beginning to drive public policy.