Earth Day, History, Links, Etcedera

by **Sebastciaun Censtcuriaus** Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:28 am

Earth Day History

Earth Day is the name given to two different annual observances that are intended to raise awareness about a wide range of environmental issues and problems, and to inspire people to take personal action to address them. Except for that general goal, the two events are unrelated, even though both were founded about a month apart in 1970 and both have gained wider acceptance and popularity ever since..

The First Earth Day

The First Earth Day Flag

In the United States, Earth Day is celebrated by most people on April 22, but there is another celebration that predates that one by approximately a month and is celebrated internationally..

The first Earth Day celebration took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal equinox that year.. It was the brainchild of John McConnell, a newspaper publisher and influential community activist, who proposed the idea of a global holiday called Earth Day at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969..

John McConnell

McConnell suggested an annual observance to remind the people of Earth of their shared responsibility as environmental stewards. He chose the vernal equinox—the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere—because it is a day of renewal. At the vernal equinox (always March 20 or March 21), night and day are the same length everywhere on Earth, and McConnell believed that Earth Day should be a time of equilibrium when people could put aside their differences and recognize their common need to preserve Earth’s resources..

On February 26, 1971, U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signed a proclamation saying that the United Nations would celebrate Earth Day annually on the vernal equinox, thereby officially establishing the March date as the international Earth Day. In his Earth Day statement on March 21, 1971, U Thant said, “May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.” The United Nations continues to celebrate Earth Day each year by ringing the Peace Bell at U.N. headquarters in New York at the precise moment of the vernal equinox..

The Second Earth Day

Participant in Earth
Day, 1970

On April 22, 1970, the Environmental Teach-In held a nationwide day of environmental education and activism that it called Earth Day..

The event was inspired and organized by environmental activist and US Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin. Nelson wanted to show other U.S. politicians that there was widespread public support for a political agenda centered on environmental issues..

Nelson began organizing the event from his Senate office, assigning two staff members to work on it, but soon more space and more people were needed. John Gardner, founder of Common Cause, donated office space. Nelson selected Denis Hayes, a Harvard University student, to coordinate Earth Day activities and gave him a staff of volunteer college students to help..

Senator Gaylord Nelson

The event was wildly successful, sparking Earth Day celebrations at thousands of colleges, universities, schools and communities all across the United States. An October 1993 article in American Heritage Magazine proclaimed, “…April 22, 1970, Earth Day was…one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy… 20 million people demonstrated their support… American politics and public policy would never be the same again..”

Following the Earth Day celebration inspired by Nelson, which demonstrated widespread grassroots support for environmental legislation, Congress passed many important environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, as well as laws to protect wilderness areas. The Environmental Protection Agency was created within three years after Earth Day 1970..

In 1995, Nelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton for his role in founding Earth Day, raising awareness of environmental issues, and promoting environmental action..

The Importance of Earth Day Now

No matter when you celebrate Earth Day, its message about the personal responsibility we all share to “think globally and act locally” as environmental stewards of planet Earth has never been more timely or important..

Our planet is in crisis due to global warming, overpopulation, and other critical environmental issues. Every person on Earth shares the responsibility to do as much as they can to preserve the planet’s finite natural resources today and for future generations..

Earth Day is a day to stop and think about your impact on the environment and what you can do to help protect it!

Earth Day 2008

What Can You Do?

A major 2006 report by the United Nations summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry. Raising animals for food, the report said, is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global..

Consider These Statistics:

Animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gas emissions than automobiles

Cows raised for beef, in particular, emit massive amounts of nitrous oxide and methane

Animal waste and feed cropland dump more pollutants into our waterways than all other human activities combined

Meat-based diets require 10-20 times as much land as plant-based diets – nearly half of the world's grains & soybeans are fed to animals

Please visit these sites below for more on meat and the environment and take a bite out of Global Warming! And don't forget to order your free veg starter kits while visiting!

GoVeg. com

Cool Your Diet. org

Veg For Life a Farm Sanctuary Campaign

Recycling is one of the easiest ways for people to take action on behalf of the environment, a way to Make Every Day Earth Day™. Recycling reduces the amount of waste in landfills, and prevents hazardous materials from leaking into our soil and water systems..

Recycling Statistics:

The average person generates 4 1/2 pounds of trash every day

The EPA estimates that 75 percent of solid waste is recyclable, while only about 30 percent is

As of 2006, there were approximately 8,660 curbside recycling programs

An aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf to be
purchased again in as little as 60 days; a glass bottle takes as little as 30 days

One gallon of improperly disposed motor oil can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water

Please visit these sites for more information on recycling:

Earth 911

The Environment Directory/Recycling

Recycle. com

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint!

A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide..

How big is yours? Find out, then reduce it and offset it!

Visit Carbon Footprint. com and discover what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint!

Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming

Top Tips to reduce CO2 emissions

EPA Earth Day Links!

Events & Volunteer Opportunities

Join the Earth Day Celebration by participating in these events and volunteer opportunities where you live..

At Home

Learn about simple things you can do around your home to reduce the environmental impacts of your everyday activities. This page includes information on how to recycle, conserve resources, avoid toxins, and practice environmentally responsible landscaping..

In Your Community

Learn how to protect your neighborhood's natural resources. You can also access information on air and water quality in your community..

At School

Whether you are a student looking for a school project, an environmental studies teacher or someone just interested in learning more about the environment, EPA has lots of educational resources to offer you..

At Work

Learn how you and your employer can protect the environment, save money and create a healthy workplace..