The history of Earth Day
Origin
Earth Day originated from Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin in 1969. Senator Nelson had been concerned about the deteriorating environment for quite some time. 1969 was his breaking point. After witnessing a large oil spill in Santa Barbara, California Nelson decided to take a stand. Nelson was inspired by students in the anti-war movement, he wanted to infuse that energy into protecting the environment. Nelson and his co-chair Denis Hayes decided to organize a campus teach-in. They chose April 22nd as it was the week in between spring break and college finals. The next year, 1970, America celebrated the first Earth Day where over 20 million Americans participated. By the end of 1970, first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other 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.
Now
In 2020, Earth Day had it's 50th anniversary. We have come along way from where we started many years ago.
Happy Earth Day:)
-Megan
(For more information, visit https://www.earthday.org/history/)
