This April 22 will be the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Earth Day began in 1970 when Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson proposed an environmental protest to “to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda.”
Of course, back in 1970, air pollution was worse that it is now and Americans were sucking up gas at an alarming rate, so perhaps a protest was more in order. On that first April 22nd, approximately 20 million took to the streets to protest for a healthier environment, led by national coordinator Denis Hayes. College students all around the country also joined in on the protests against pollution, oil spills, loss of natural resources and wilderness, toxic dumps, pesticides, and extinction of animals.
If you are wondering if the first Earth Day was successful – it was! It was part of what led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well as the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. And, for his part in establishing Earth Day, Senator Nelson was given the highest honor awarded to civilians – the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Many changes were made over the years, but Denis Hayes was called again to lead an Earth Day campaign in 1990. This time, it wasn’t just America, but 200 million all over the world that celebrated Earth Day. Some believe that this Earth Day helped in the establishment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Ten years later, as the new millennium approached, Hayes was once again called to head an Earth Day campaign. But, the Internet was around to help organize people. This time, 5,000 environmental groups helped organized hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries.
Morocco has announced it would be the first African country to set up a National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development on Earth Day 2010. This charter will be used to set up a guide policy and establish future laws for natural resources.