Madison, WI – Earth Day is something of an odd entity. There are no hard and fast rituals or observations surrounding it like with other holidays. Banks and post offices don’t close for the day. Earth Day just sort of comes and goes with little fanfare. But some businesses, like Smart Motors in Madison, make it their mission to honor the significance of the day throughout the year. We’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s find out how Earth Day came to be.
Did you know Earth Day’s origins can be directly linked to Wisconsin? That’s right! It’s a homegrown holiday. In the late 1960s, Wisconsin’s junior senator Gaylord Nelson was concerned about the deteriorating environment in the U.S. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of these protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. They recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they choose April 22, 1970, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation.
Hayes built a national staff to promote events across the country and the effort soon broadened to include a wide range of organizations, faith groups, and others. Dubbing the effort “Earth Day” sparked national media attention and inspired 20 million Americans to take to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment and there were massive coast-to-coast rallies in cities, towns, and communities.
Groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife united on Earth Day around these shared common values. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of other environmental laws.*
In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. In the 53 years since Earth Day’s inception, a lot of changes have been made throughout the auto industry to make vehicles more efficient with fewer emissions. A game-changer was introduced to the U.S. marketplace in 2000 and has had a profound impact on the greater Madison area year-round.
In the year 2000, Smart Motors introduced the Midwest to the Toyota Prius, the first mass-produced mainstream hybrid vehicle available in the U.S. Toyota has made great strides to manufacture vehicles that are at the forefront of the movement for cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. Toyota’s hybrid cars get over 50 mpg, and are some of the cleanest cars on the road. Today, one out of every four cars sold in Madison is a Toyota, and Smart Motors has been the Midwest’s number-one seller of hybrid vehicles for 15 years running.
“Our sales reflect not only our own values when it comes to environmental responsibility, but they also show how the Madison market holds these ideals in high esteem, too,” says Justin Jackson, general sales manager at Smart Motors.
Today, Smart Motors offers 14 different models of hybrid and electric vehicles, including sedans, crossovers, SUVs and even pickups. In fact, 75 percent of Toyota’s line-up is available as hybrids or electric.
“We order and sell more hybrids than any other type of powered vehicles,” says Jackson. “In fact, this month we received our first shipment of Toyota’s first, 100% electric vehicle, the 2023 Toyota bZ4X. Just in time for Earth Day 2023!”
So what does the future look like for alternative fuel vehicles? Jackson says he predicts that nearly all models will eventually be made available as hybrid or electric or both. He says that whatever the future holds in as far as energy efficient vehicles holds, Smart Motors will be a part of it. And their eco-conscious offerings will continue to keep the spirit behind Earth Day in top gear throughout the year for a long time to come.
About Smart Motors
Smart Motors was founded in 1908 by O.D. Smart and is one of the nation’s oldest automotive dealerships, is the mid-west’s largest hybrid dealer, Wisconsin’s largest Toyota Certified Used Vehicle dealer and one of Wisconsin’s largest volume Toyota dealers. Located at 5901 Odana Road, Smart Motors is Wisconsin’s only two-time President’s Cabinet Award recipient from Toyota Motor Sales for superior customer service & sales volume. More information about Smart Motors.
* Taken from EarthDay.org
