by Beth Gray

Today is the 40th anniversary of the celebration of the first Earth Day.  While today Earth Day and the sentiment surrounding it is a part of our everyday lives, the notion of a day to acknowledge the importance of being good stewards of our environment was not always so commonplace. 

In the early 1960s, Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) began to formulate ideas for what would eventually become the first Earth Day.  Disturbed by the fact that in the midst of other significant events of the decade, “the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country,” Nelson proposed to President John Kennedy that he undertake a national conservation tour.  Convinced by Senator Nelson’s argument that the environment was a key issue that was being overlooked in the political sphere, President Kennedy began his conservation tour in September 1963, traveling through 11 states in five days.  Senator Nelson himself acknowledges that the tour itself failed to achieve his ultimate goal of putting the state of the environment at the top echelons of the nation’s political agenda.  He continued to advocate for environmental protection, however, and it was in 1969 that the idea of Earth Day finally occurred to him.

Realizing the political effectiveness of anti-Vietnam War demonstrations on college campuses across the nation, Nelson decided to dovetail on the activity of demonstrating to garner support while changing only the topic of discussion from the Vietnam War to environmental protection.  He announced his plan in September 1969 while at a conference in Seattle, Washington and invited everyone to participate.  The news media quickly picked up the story and as the word got out about Nelson’s plan for a nationwide college “teach in” about protecting the environment, popularity for the idea increased dramatically. By tapping into the grassroots consciousness that was already present on college campuses, Nelson’s first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, was a huge success and has gained momentum over his 40 year lifetime, now spanning far past the borders of the United States to be celebrated by more than one billion people worldwide.

There are a variety of ways that Earth Day is celebrated.  The Earth Day Network is a great location to search for activities associated with Earth Day and to find ways to take action in support of a cleaner and healthier environment.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an interactive map on its website that it has kept updated to allow interested individuals to find Earth Day activities in their local and regional communities.  The EPA is also encouraging visitors to its website to “Pick 5 for the Environment,” providing a list of 10 relatively simple ways to help the environment and asking visitors to commit to incorporating at least five into their daily lifestyles. 

From its humble beginnings of only one man’s idea more than 40 years ago, Earth Day has evolved into a worldwide event.  As the state of our environment has degraded over time, the activities associated with Earth Day and the information disseminated as a result of such efforts have increased.  While there is still work to be done, Earth Day and the activities associated with it are a great way to acknowledge the importance of protecting our delicate environment.  I encourage you to find a volunteer activity to work on today in support of a cleaner environment, pledge to use less water in your own household, begin a recycling program in your local community, or find some other effective means of making a positive impact toward a healthier environment.

Tags: Earth Day, Earth Day Network, Pick 5 for the Environment, President John Kennedy, Senator Gaylord Nelson, United States Environmental Protection Agency

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 8:43 am and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.