Sunday, April 22, 2018, is Earth Day. We only have one
planet and we need to do everything we can to save it.
Supposedly originated in 1969 at a UNESCO conference in San
Francisco, the name and idea for Earth Day was first observed on March 21,
1970—the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This day in
celebration of the Earth was put into a proclamation signed by UN Secretary U
Thant.
And at about the same time, a separate Earth Day was founded
in the United States as an environmental teach-in
first observed on April 22, 1970. The
April 22nd date was taken international in 1990 with organized
events focusing on environmental issues in 141 nations.
The impetus for an Earth Day came following the huge oil
spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. Originally a teach-in on environmental issues
to be observed on every college campus in the United States. The name Earth Day was a logical and obvious
suggestion made by several people in the fall of 1969.
The April 22, 1970, Earth Day was the beginning of the
modern environmental movement. Media
coverage of the first April 22 Earth Day included Walter Cronkite's narration
of a CBS News Special Report Earth Day: A
Question Of Survival.
Earth Day became a popular event in the United States and
soon around the world as well. Earth Day
seemed to work because of a grassroots level enthusiasm that quickly spread.
In 1990, on the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in
the United States, the observation officially went global in 141
countries. The status of environmental
issues now had stronger marketing tools, greater access to television and
radio, and multimillion-dollar budgets.
Earth Day 2000 marked the first time the movement used the
internet as its principle means of organization both locally and
internationally.
Today Earth Day continues to grow in membership, number of
countries participating, and the scope of its effectiveness.
We only have one planet and need to do everything we can to
save it.
6 comments:
Let;s make every day Earth Day!
Earth Day is so important. I like what Asantay said. We need to do a better job of looking after this planet. Thanks for researching this topic.
Great post! One of the organizers of Earth Day was Gaylord Nelson, who was a senator at that time from Wisconsin.
Ashantay: As it should be! We shouldn't require a 'special' day to take care of our planet.
Thanks for your comment.
C.B.: It's the only planet we have. Earth is a living thing and has been going through changes for 4.5 billion years (climate change, continental drift, etc.), but negative human impact has definitely been altering the natural progression of the climate change for the last few decades.
Thanks for your comment.
Ilona: Thanks for the additional information.
Thanks for your comment.
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