The more I learn about the history of Earth Day, the harder it is to imagine a world without its existence. Sure, we still have long ways to go with urgent needs to speed up our efforts, but had this environmental movement never taken place, who knows what the world would look like today!
In celebration of Earth Month and with the 52nd of its kind approaching later this month, I thought it fitting to share a little history on this big day and the wins it has led to. When you learn about the origins of Earth Day, a campaign that grew global in 1990 mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries, you are truly awed by the power of the people! It is pure evidence of the opportunities we hold to make a difference when we decide to come together and speak up about the world we believe in!
The first Earth Day ever was hosted on April 22nd, 1970 in the United States. It was a nationwide campaign that gave birth to many of the environmental laws we know (and are incredibly grateful for) today! But how did this day come about and why was a day dedicated to Earth important?
In the decades leading up to Earth Day, Americans consumed vast amounts of gas. Huge and inefficient automobiles, industries across the nation belching out gas and sludge, and little to no fear about any consequences thereof — either from the law or bad press.
At the time, air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity!
This is what an average American city looked like before the EPA regulated pollution. Up until that point, mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and the impact of pollution on human health.
But things were about to change in 1962 when Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was published. The book soon became a New York Times Bestseller and sold over 500,000 copies in 24 countries. It helped raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment, and the link between pollution and public health.
Later in the same decade, a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, prompted Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin to have an idea. Having long been concerned for the environment himself, he thought it was time to raise public awareness on the issue. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he wanted to create a similar movement for Earth!
Senator Nelson was able to convince a college in Congressman Pete McCloskey to join him as co-chair and the two of them soon recruited the young activist Denis Hayes to help organize the campaign.
Recognizing that they could inspire all Americans, they decided to build a team of 85 and organized events across the nation. They chose April 22nd as the day of action and decided to name it Earth Day. This gained a lot of attention from the media and as Earth Day came, no less than 20 million Americans (10% of the total population at the time) took to streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of the industrial development on the environment and human health.
A Huge Success!
Earth Day was a huge success that reaped many wins. By the end of 1970, it led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of many first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act.
Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act. A year after that, the Endangered Species Act was also passed, and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws have protected millions of men, women, and children from disease and death and have protected hundreds of species from extinction!
And it kept going…
Earth Day has been hosted ever since and has grown into a massive environmental movement. In 1990, Hayes was approached once again and asked to launch another campaign — this time Earth Day went global. They mobilized over 200 million people in 141 countries and really helped to bring environmental issues to the world stage. This gave a huge push to recycling efforts worldwide and also helped pave the path for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Over the decades, EARTHDAY.ORG has brought hundreds of millions of people into the environmental movement, creating opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism in 193 countries!
Today Earth Day engages more than 1 billion people every year and has become a major stepping stone along the pathway of engagement around the protection of the planet!
Learn more and get involved
Want to find out how you can participate in Earth Day this year? Head over to their website to search for an event near you or learn about other ways how to get involved!