Earth Day was created in 1970 to promote environmental awareness and to encourage progressive action around the world. It is officially celebrated on April 22, although individual communities around the world host celebrations throughout the month of April. (Wilmington will be celebrating on Saturday, April 18, 2009). It's all about enviornmental education and how every person can make a difference.
Earth Day's founder Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin at the time, proposed this first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda." "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it worked."
That first year, approximately 20 million people throughout America celebrated. By 1990, 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day. As awareness and concerns spread, so did the participation in this annual celebration. In the year 2000, 184 countries and hundreds of milliions of people were on board.
Do You Remember 1970 & First Earth Day?
In addition to 1970 being the first year our communities united to celebrate our planet and begin this modern enviromental movement now known as Earth Day — it was a noteworthy year in many ways.
• The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22
• The Kent State shootings shocked the nation
• Simon & Garfunkel released "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
• Richard Nixon was President
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began
• The Concord made it's first supersonic flight
• The average cost of a new house was $23,450
• The Beatles' recorded their last album
• Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin both died
• ...and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina — an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.
How Will You Participate?
There are a lot of ways to get involved. Some people choose Earth Day as the beginning of their commitment to our planet by starting to recycle, grow a garden, or even walk (instead of drive) to work. Current and previous Earth Day themes for Wilmington have been:
• “Reduce” — 2010
• “How Do You Get Around” — 2009
• “Trees Please” — 2008
Now's the time to change a habit and invest in the Earth's future. Do something nice for the Earth, and our Earth will return the favor.
For more information on the worldwide Earth Day celebration, we encourage you to visit one of these websites:
Earth Day Network
www.earthday.net
Earth Day (U.S. Government)
www.earthday.gov
Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov/earthday
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