Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day has been celebrated globally on April 22 since 1970. This date marks the birth of a movement to protect the environment and bring awareness to the growing environmental issues.

Senator Gaylord Nelson, from Wisconsin, was an advocate for environmental issues. After a massive oil spill in January 1969, Senator Nelson recruited a young activist to organize campus teach-ins on environmental issues on April 22. The young activist saw the potential for change and recruited 85 activists around the country to join her pursuits.

Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans to protest the detrimental impacts of 150 years of industrial development has had on people and the environment.

The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This led to the first ever environmental laws including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. The following years laws such as Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws have protected our Earth and its living creatures, but there is still so much work to be done.

In 1990, another campaign was organized, this time, Earth Day went global. More than 200 million people from 141 countries celebrated Earth Day. This massive movement gave way to the first United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Ways you can help protect our earth

• Plant Trees
• Recycle water resources
• Use clean energy
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Buy local
• Donate to a local organization
• Give your home “green makeover” by choosing sustainable products.
• Choose Eco Friendly products
• Clean mode of transportation such as walking or biking