The origins of Earth Day
Earth Day is observed each April 22. Though not an official holiday, the world began celebrating in 1970 as a response to environmental neglect, according to History.
What started as a protest became a global celebration of green living and an appreciation of the beauty of our planet.
It reminds us to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the beauty the Earth offers us daily.
Earth Day was founded in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson, with the purpose to inform people about environmental problems that needed to be addressed, according to History.
Nelson was inspired by the protests and call to attention to protecting the climate in the 1960s.
In 1969 a fire on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland began when pollution floating down the river was ignited by a spark. The fire brought attention to America about the neglect of protecting the planets resources, according to History.
There was no EPA, Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act set in place to protect Earth, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency. This meant factories could produce unlimited amounts of pollutants and dump debris and toxic waste without any legal restraints.
Nelson wanted to raise awareness of the problem and bring a focus to protect the environment to the public.
He decided 'to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda,' reported History.
Nelson used the anti-Vietnam War 'teach-ins' that were being held on college campuses as inspiration for his own nationwide 'teach-ins' on the environment.
He announced his idea of Earth Day at a conference in Seattle.
'The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters,' he said, according to History. 'Telegrams, letters and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes and air—and they did so with spectacular exuberance.'
A young activist, Denis Hayes, was hired to be the national coordinator of Earth Day. He gathered a staff of 85 people to promote the event, according to the Earth Day official website.
On April 22, 1970, rallies in cities all throughout America gathered to listen to speeches and raise awareness about protecting the environment. Congress went into recess to allow the ability for members to speak at the nation wide event.
The decade following the very first Earth Day were very effective. Environmental legislation was passed including the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, per History.
'Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level,' said Nelson, reported by History. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.'
Earth Day has continued to grow. The Earth Day Network stated this year 550,000 trees will be planted by the Canopy Project, 7,500,000 pounds of garbage will be removed by The Great Global Cleanup and 1,000,000 schools will introduce climate education into their curriculum.
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