Regional: Earth Day Reading List -- Five New Books With Ideas And Inspiration For Protecting The Planet Bay City News Service FacebookTwitterEmail Bay City News Foundation The COVID-19 pandemic definitely put a damper on last year's celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, forcing a lot of observances to go strictly digital. Ironically, it was a lot kinder to Mother Earth herself, as air and noise pollution dropped, waterways grew clearer and wildlife emerged in places it had never been seen before. It was ample demonstration both of the impact human activity has on the environment and of the ability of our natural resources to recover from damage.