Climate conditions affecting the planet continue to develop since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. CBS News' David Schechter breaks down the newest challenges the Earth is facing.

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

The inception of Earth Day in 1970 marked a pivotal moment in American history, with the aim of igniting awareness and action towards environmental conservation. Coinciding with the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the first Earth Day signaled a collective acknowledgment of mankind's role in preserving the planet's ecosystem. Over the decades since, significant progress has been achieved in improving air and water quality across the United States.

Despite advancements, contemporary challenges remain. According to CBS News national correspondent David Schechter, environmental concerns continue amid fluctuating regulatory landscapes. The discussion highlights changes in policy direction, particularly during the Trump administration, which saw the rollback of various environmental regulations. This shift is perceived as a move favoring business interests over environmental conservation, putting strain on ongoing efforts to protect the ecosystem.

The conversation also explores the balance of responsibilities between individuals, corporations, and governments in addressing climate challenges. While personal actions like recycling are encouraged, there is a recognition that more substantial change is needed at a corporate and governmental level. The Biden administration's climate policies aim to reduce emissions significantly; however, enduring concern lies in ensuring these initiatives persist beyond shifting political administrations.

Local solutions are exemplified through community-driven projects, such as a marshland enhancement effort in Philadelphia, illustrating how local actions can effectively contribute to environmental preservation. These projects reflect the resilience and innovation being employed at state and community levels to continue the progress initiated over five decades ago.



What changed since Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970?

The CBS News special, Earth Day, A Question of Survival, with CBS News correspondent, Walter Cronkite. Good evening. A unique day in American history is ending. A day set aside for a nationwide outpouring of mankind seeking its own survival. Earth Day. A day dedicated to enlisting all the citizens of a bountiful country in a common cause of saving life from the deadly byproducts of that bounty. That was Walter Cronkite reporting on the very first Earth Day back in 1970. Earth Day. Deadly byproducts. A question of survival. The day was established the same year the Environmental Protection Agency was founded with the mission to protect human health and our ecosystem. But a lot has happened in the more than 50 years between then and today's observance of the day. So joining me now in Studio 55 is CBS News national correspondent, responsible for all things climate, David Schechter. Good to see you. Good to see you. So, it's so, like, it's, there's a rosy tint of nostalgia when you look at a report like that. Sure. When the headline, the lead of Walter's introduction is a question of survival. Yeah. When he made it seem that our survivability was at stake here in making sure that the environment was sound over the future, for future generations. And we're nowhere near that now. Yeah. What's changed from the way we thought about it back in 1970 to now? Well, I feel like that was a galvanizing moment in 1970. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland had caught fire and the American public was outraged about what they were seeing because there's just oil slicks and chemicals all over. We've made a tremendous amount of progress since Walter Cronkite's report. But I still feel like what he's saying, that we're at, it's a moment, we're still in this fragile moment, a moment of peril, that the environment is not something you can just fix and move on. It's a continual process. And today we, our air is cleaner, our water is cleaner. But with the Trump administration has essentially been removing the regulations, removing funding and really things that will challenge the environment. Very pro-business moves, but not so much for the environment. And I think that puts us in a fragile moment where that fight that Cronkite was talking about, it continues on today very much so. You know, two things strike me. One, which is that as a people, as Americans back then, we were very optimistic. We were almost idealistic about the things that we thought we could fix. We thought that we could fix equality for all. We thought that we could, I mean, not just black and brown people, but women as well. The Equal Rights Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of the 1960s. We thought that the world was just going to be a better place. Those young people who attended Woodstock, the Baby Boomers, they really did envision a world where the age of Aquarius, to coin that song, was going to come to be. Instead, what you just referenced, the regulations that the Trump administration is removing, those regulations were put into place to prevent corporations from destroying the planet. There's this notion out there that if you don't recycle, well, you're contributing to the demise of the environment. When it's really not just somebody who forgets to compost their food that's destroying the environment. It's big business. And what we're talking about now is removing the protections that we are afforded because we want to allow capitalism to fester. I think what you're talking about, to some extent, is personal responsibility versus corporate responsibility and government responsibility. Yes, we should recycle, right? We should do our part to whatever we can do. One hundred percent. You and I are not going to recycle our way out of what we're facing right now. Right. So that's the essential issue is how do you view the role of government? So here's the federal government under the Biden administration with the most aggressive climate policies in the world, reducing emissions that would come out of our smokestacks, out of our tailpipes. And then a new president who is repealing or eliminating or gutting all those regulations. And so what is the way forward? Really, you've got to look to, right now, states and cities and counties and community groups that continue to do amazing things. We were in Philadelphia for a project we were working on, and we saw right next to the airport, there's an enormous marsh that the Fish and Wildlife Service and the community has enhanced. When it floods there, the sewage that comes out of rivers goes in there. It's filtered naturally. It prevents flooding into neighborhoods. This is a local solution that is the kinds of things that we see are happening everywhere. I'd like to see more of that. David Shatner, good to have you in the studio. Great to be here. Nice to have you. Happy Earth Day. All right.

Russia pummeled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people and damaging buildings across the capital only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia hits Kyiv with largest drone attack after Trump-Putin call

U.S. President Donald Trump marked the passage of the new spending bill, which includes changes to food assistance, student loan programs, and clean energy credits. Robert Costa joins "CBS Mornings" to break down what's in the legislation.

Washington

Trump set to sign "big, beautiful bill"

More than 80 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday (July 3), according to health officials, as Israel intensified its strikes, hitting a school-turned-displacement facility. CNN’s Paula Hancocks looks at the damage and humanitarian toll.

Jerusalem

More than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukraine will do 'anything' to advance EU accession talks: Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

Global Tariffs

Trump: Letters telling countries their tariff rate going out Friday

Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

After marathon debate sessions in the Senate and House, President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed in the House. Republicans secured the biggest win of Trump’s presidency.

Trump’s landmark ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passes U.S. House

Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

First group of detainees arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

The Kremlin welcomed the development, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov claiming it proves Western arsenals are being depleted and predicting that less aid will hasten the end of the conflict.

U.S. pauses military aid to Ukraine over depleted weapons stockpile

Two contractors employed by UG Solutions spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as they were revealing their employers’ internal operations.

U.S. contractors say live ammo used at Gaza aid distribution site

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for hours on the House floor about potential impacts of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that Republicans are looking to pass before July 4. Following debate, the House is set for a final vote on the massive budget bill.

House debates Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' ahead of final vote

CBS News political contributor Caroline Polisi joins "CBS Mornings" to break down the jury's verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial and the judge's decision to deny bail for the music mogul ahead of his sentencing.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail after split verdict

Liverpool soccer player Diogo Jota has died aged 28, just weeks after marrying his childhood sweetheart. The footballer passed away in a car crash in northern Spain.

Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

China rejects Dalai Lama’s succession plan

The U.S. Congress inched towards approving President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it. The bill is Trump’s signature legislation which includes massive spending increases on the military and immigration enforcement while slashing social programs.

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill nears approval

Sean (Diddy) Combs was found guilty on prostitution-related charges, but was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking giving him a maximum sentence of 20 years. But the courtroom victory was subdued following a judge’s ruling to deny him bail.

New York

Diddy denied bail, avoids life in prison

President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but it remains unclear if Hamas will accept the terms. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire conditions

Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

New details revealed as Kohberger pleads guilty for 2022 Idaho murders

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 176-year-old state abortion ban

Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Macron visiting Putin in Russia in February 2022, but dialogue eventually stalled.

Paris

Macron held 'substantial' phone call with Putin

President Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center he teamed up with Ron DeSantis to build in the Everglades.

Everglades

Protesters gather around ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as President Trump visits

Jurors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial said they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts, but they cannot reach a verdict on Count 1, which is racketeering conspiracy. The judge has instructed the jury to keep deliberating. Deliberations will resume Wednesday (July 2).

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs case

The U.S. Senate passed the Republicans' reconciliation bill on Tuesday (July 1) after more than 24 hours of marathon voting on amendments. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.

U.S. Senate passes Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

The new order does not rescind existing sanctions on ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad, his top aides, officials and family members who are accused of having committed war crimes and human rights violations against Syrian civilians.

Trump signs executive order lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria

Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

Suspect in murders of four Idaho college students to plead guilty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

Thai court suspends PM from duty pending case seeking her dismissal

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Climate Crisis