Week-long demonstrations-across the nation have begun in support of a filthy thing - the earth.
Lung-clogging air, putrid water, poisoned land and overpopulation will be the subjects of scholarly conferences, long-distance bicycle rides, mock funerals (for the internal combustion engine) and other demonstrations by Americans concerned about man's ravaged environment.
The week-long activities will pick up steam on Wednesday, proclaimed as ''Earth Day" when teach-ins reminiscent of the early debate on the Vietnam War begin. But while Vietnam divided people along political lines, pollution as an issue cuts across such lines.
Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., said 10,000 high schools and 2,000 colleges will participate in the dialogue which "involves the very quality of our lives."
Young people rode bicycles 15 miles from the University of California at Los Angeles to Los Angeles City Hall yesterday. There was a funeral held for the internal combustion engine at the Unitarian Church in Studio City, Calif.
