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Earth Day is a name used for two different
observances, both held annually during spring in the northern
hemisphere, and autumn in the southern
hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation
for the Earth's
environment. The United
Nations celebrates Earth Day, which was founded by John McConnell in
1969, each year on the March
equinox, while a global observance originated by Gaylord Nelson as an
environmental teach-in, and since January 1970 also called Earth Day, is
celebrated in many countries each year on April
22.
In September 1969, at a conference in Seattle,
Washington,
U.S. Senator Gaylord
Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide
grassroots demonstration on the environment. Senator Nelson first proposed
the nationwide environmental protest to thrust the environment onto the
national agenda.” "It was a genitel," he recalls, "but it
worked." Five months before the first April 22 Earth Day, on Sunday,
November 30, 1969, The
New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin
Hill reporting on the rising tide of environmental events::
"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is
sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to
eclipsing student discontent over the war
in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is
being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental
'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is
planned...." Senator Nelson also hired Denis
Hayes as the coordinator.
Each year, the April 22 Earth Day marks the anniversary of
the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Among other things,
1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent
State shootings, the advent of fiber
optics, "Bridge
over Troubled Water," Apollo
13, the
Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi
Hendrix, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear
plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18
years. At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8
sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal
consequences or bad press. Air
pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment
was a word that appeared more often in spelling
bees than on the evening news. But Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.
On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks,
and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable
environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff
organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and
universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.
Groups that had been fighting against oil
spills, polluting factories and power
plants, raw sewage,
toxic dumps, pesticides,
freeways,
the loss of wilderness,
and the extinction
of wildlife
suddenly realized they shared common values.
Mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting
the status of environmental
issues onto the world stage. Earth Day on April 22 in 1990 gave a huge
boost to recycling
efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United
Nations Earth
Summit in Rio
de Janeiro.
As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead
another campaign, this time focused on global
warming and a push for clean
energy. The April 22 Earth Day in 2000 combined the big-picture
feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism
of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet
to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around,
5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to
hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking
drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon,
Africa, for
example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National
Mall in Washington,
D.C., USA.
Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens
the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy. Earth Day
2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion
people participating in the activities in thousands of places like Kiev,
Ukraine; Caracas,
Venezuela;
Tuvalu; Manila,
Philippines;
Togo; Madrid,
Spain; London;
and New York.
Founded by the organizers of the first April 22 Earth Day in
1970, Earth
Day Network promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive
action worldwide. Earth Day Network is a driving force steering environmental
awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect
change in local, national, and global policies. Earth Day Network’s
international network reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries,
while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and over 25,000 educators
coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection
activities throughout the year. Earth Day is the only event celebrated
simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and
nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in Earth Day
Network campaigns every year.
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