The
first Earth Day – April 22, 1970 – marked the beginning of the modern
environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans, especially on
college campuses, participated in a national teach-in on environmental issues and protests against
environmental deterioration on the first Earth Day.
It’s hard to imagine it now, but the first
Earth Day was a revelation to many, a way not only of raising consciousness
about environmental issues but also of bringing together separate groups that
had been fighting separately against issues including oil spills, pollutions
from factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, the loss
of wilderness, air pollution and more. Since then, Earth Day is always
celebrated on April 22. But why April 22?
Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson is
widely credited with suggesting the first Earth Day on April 22. It was a
movement whose time had come, and Nelson wasn’t alone in 1970 in suggesting a
grassroots demonstration aimed at protecting the environment. San Francisco
activist John McConnell also asked Americans to join in a demonstration in
1970, and McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) as his date.
Today, you can find Earth Day events on both the spring equinox and April 22.
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