Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the
Earth Day Network[1] and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
[2]
In 1969 at a
UNESCO Conference in San Francisco,
peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General
U Thant at the
United Nations. A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by
United States SenatorGaylord Nelson as an environmental
teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. Nelson was later awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom award in recognition of his work.
[5] While this April 22 Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by
Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations.
[6][7] Numerous communities celebrate
Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces.
Earth Day 1970
The first Earth Day celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it "brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform."[8] It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, chaired by the first Earth Day 1970 organizer Denis Hayes, according to whom Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year."[9] Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes.[10]
New York City
In the winter of 1969–1970, a group of students met at
Columbia University to hear Denis Hayes talk about his plans for Earth Day. Among the group were
Fred Kent,
Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard. This group agreed to head up the New York City activities within the national movement. Fred Kent took the lead in renting an office and recruiting volunteers. "The big break came when Mayor Lindsay agreed to shut down Fifth Avenue for the event. A giant cheer went up in the office on that day," according to Kristin Hubbard (now Kristin Alexandre). 'From that time on we used Mayor Lindsay's offices and even his staff. I was Speaker Coordinator but had tremendous help from Lindsay staffer Judith Crichton."
Philadelphia
Predictions from Earth Day 1970
- Denis Hayes, the chief organizer for the first Earth Day, wrote, "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
- Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, stated, "Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct."
- Peter Gunter, a professor at North Texas State University, stated, "... by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
- Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, predicted that between 1980 and 1989, 4 billion people, including 65 million Americans, would starve to death.
- Life Magazine wrote, "... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half."
- Ecologist Kenneth Watt stated, "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
- Watt also stated, "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won’t be any more crude oil."
Earth Day 1990
Mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of
environmental issues onto the world stage, Earth Day activities in 1990 gave a huge boost to
recyclingefforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992
United Nations Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro. Unlike the first Earth Day in 1970, this 20th Anniversary was waged with stronger marketing tools, greater access to television and radio, and multimillion-dollar budgets.
The first Earth Day celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it "brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform."
[8] It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, chaired by the first Earth Day 1970 organizer Denis Hayes, according to whom Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year."
[9] Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes.
[10]
New York City
In the winter of 1969–1970, a group of students met at
Columbia University to hear Denis Hayes talk about his plans for Earth Day. Among the group were
Fred Kent,
Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard. This group agreed to head up the New York City activities within the national movement. Fred Kent took the lead in renting an office and recruiting volunteers. "The big break came when Mayor Lindsay agreed to shut down Fifth Avenue for the event. A giant cheer went up in the office on that day," according to Kristin Hubbard (now Kristin Alexandre). 'From that time on we used Mayor Lindsay's offices and even his staff. I was Speaker Coordinator but had tremendous help from Lindsay staffer Judith Crichton."
Philadelphia
Predictions from Earth Day 1970
- Denis Hayes, the chief organizer for the first Earth Day, wrote, "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
- Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, stated, "Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct."
- Peter Gunter, a professor at North Texas State University, stated, "... by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
- Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, predicted that between 1980 and 1989, 4 billion people, including 65 million Americans, would starve to death.
- Life Magazine wrote, "... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half."
- Ecologist Kenneth Watt stated, "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
- Watt also stated, "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won’t be any more crude oil."
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