By Yvonne Fu
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans stormed the streets to demonstrate against 150 years of industrial development. This event was later named Earth Day and 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the day that launched the modern environmental movement.
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans stormed the streets to demonstrate against 150 years of industrial development. This event was later named Earth Day and 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the day that launched the modern environmental movement.
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The First Earth Day
Half a century ago, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day to gain political traction for environmental issues. According to the first national Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes, pollution was a prominent issue. During this time ,“simply breathing was the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. We had rivers that were catching on fire, lakes that were dying, the American emblem was on the verge of extinction.” Although these were scenes that Hayes had witnessed, few spoke of the issues. |
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Senator Nelson managed to convince Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey to serve as the Co-Chair and recruit young activist Denis Hayes to organize the first Earth Day event. They planned to bring forth environmental consciousness through college campus teach-ins and the national media. According to the Earth Day Network, the New York Times played a significant role in the outcome of this movement. Months before the first Earth Day, the New York Times “ran a full-page ad announcing a day of environmental action,” which Hayes had claimed to have “changed everything.” This ad was able to convince millions of Americans to participate in this historical moment.
The first Earth Day was scheduled for April 22, 1970 with the purpose of maximizing student participation. This date fell between spring break and final exams. Nelson had believed that the ambitious characteristics of the student anti-war protests could raise public consciousness of environmental pollution. They were not wrong. According to the Earth Day Network, the demonstration brought together people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and political beliefs as well as united individual groups who fought “against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, loss of wilderness and extinction of wildlife.”
The first Earth Day was scheduled for April 22, 1970 with the purpose of maximizing student participation. This date fell between spring break and final exams. Nelson had believed that the ambitious characteristics of the student anti-war protests could raise public consciousness of environmental pollution. They were not wrong. According to the Earth Day Network, the demonstration brought together people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and political beliefs as well as united individual groups who fought “against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, loss of wilderness and extinction of wildlife.”
Growing Support
Support for the movement quickly grew. It took thirty years to build their support from 183 countries, over 5000 environmental organizations, and billions of individual advocates.
The actions taken on this day had not only encouraged the world to join the effort, but also convinced the United States government to establish the Environmental Protection Agency and pass environmental protection laws such as the Environmental Education Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and many more.
In recognition of Senator Gaylord Nelson’s achievements as the founder of Earth Day, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.
Earth Day 2020
With hopes to achieve more progress in the upcoming years, the Earth Day Network has released information regarding its goals in order to “shape the future of 21st century environmentalism.” This information can be found on https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-50th-anniversary.
The 2020 Earth Day theme was climate action. The Earth Day Network has released information on a series of campaigns including the Great Global Cleanup, Footprints for the Future, EARTHRISE, and more. More information can be found on www.earthday.org.
From April 22,2020 through April 24, 2020, virtual speeches, music performances, and other events were livestreamed on www.earthdaylive2020.org featuring many leaders from around the world including Bill Nye, John Kerry, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Villaseńor, and many more. The Global Advisory Committee also helped support this year’s virtual Earth Day.
Modern Environmental Movement
Coming into the new millennium, the Earth Day Network stated that the environmental movement faced much adversity such as the increased amount of “climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, and a disinterested public.” “Despite that amazing success and decades of environmental progress, we find ourselves facing an even more dire, almost existential, set of global environmental challenges, from loss of biodiversity to climate change to plastic pollution, that call for action at all levels of government,” Earth Day Network founder Denis Hayes explained. However, activists began to use the rise of the internet and social media to continue to grow the movement and recruit supporters.
As society has changed over the past 50 years, the environmental community has become more focused on battling global warming and fighting for clean energy with increasing urgency. To appreciate the environmental accomplishments throughout the past half century, the Earth Day Network reminds everyone that the EDN and Earth Day is about “empowering individuals with the information, the tools, the messaging and the communities needed to make an impact and drive change.”
Support for the movement quickly grew. It took thirty years to build their support from 183 countries, over 5000 environmental organizations, and billions of individual advocates.
The actions taken on this day had not only encouraged the world to join the effort, but also convinced the United States government to establish the Environmental Protection Agency and pass environmental protection laws such as the Environmental Education Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and many more.
In recognition of Senator Gaylord Nelson’s achievements as the founder of Earth Day, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.
Earth Day 2020
With hopes to achieve more progress in the upcoming years, the Earth Day Network has released information regarding its goals in order to “shape the future of 21st century environmentalism.” This information can be found on https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-50th-anniversary.
The 2020 Earth Day theme was climate action. The Earth Day Network has released information on a series of campaigns including the Great Global Cleanup, Footprints for the Future, EARTHRISE, and more. More information can be found on www.earthday.org.
From April 22,2020 through April 24, 2020, virtual speeches, music performances, and other events were livestreamed on www.earthdaylive2020.org featuring many leaders from around the world including Bill Nye, John Kerry, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Villaseńor, and many more. The Global Advisory Committee also helped support this year’s virtual Earth Day.
Modern Environmental Movement
Coming into the new millennium, the Earth Day Network stated that the environmental movement faced much adversity such as the increased amount of “climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, and a disinterested public.” “Despite that amazing success and decades of environmental progress, we find ourselves facing an even more dire, almost existential, set of global environmental challenges, from loss of biodiversity to climate change to plastic pollution, that call for action at all levels of government,” Earth Day Network founder Denis Hayes explained. However, activists began to use the rise of the internet and social media to continue to grow the movement and recruit supporters.
As society has changed over the past 50 years, the environmental community has become more focused on battling global warming and fighting for clean energy with increasing urgency. To appreciate the environmental accomplishments throughout the past half century, the Earth Day Network reminds everyone that the EDN and Earth Day is about “empowering individuals with the information, the tools, the messaging and the communities needed to make an impact and drive change.”
The New York Times released this advertisement to promote the first Earth Day in 1970.
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2020 Earth Day flyer
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Bibliography:
Last Updated: 5:46 pm , 4/27/2020
- https://www.earthday.org/history/
- https://www.earthday.org/50-years-later-the-new-york-times-runs-another-full-page-ad-for-earth-day/
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-earth-day
- https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/04/denis-hayes-one-of-earth-days-founders-50-years-ago-reflects/
Last Updated: 5:46 pm , 4/27/2020
