A Brief History on Earth Day

Written by: Evangeline Johnson (‘29)

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across the United States celebrated the first ever Earth Day. Thousands of individuals participated in events like rallies and “teach-ins”, helping educate many people about the environment and the impacts they can have on their surroundings. The idea for the first Earth Day can be credited to the Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson in early 1969. Following a large oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, Senator Nelson recruited young activist Denis Hayes to organize some of these teach-ins for colleges, realizing that this age group could have a positive impact on mobilizing effective clean-ups. 

Little known fact, the specific date of April 22 was chosen because it was a weekday between Spring Break and Final Exams, allowing it to maximize student participation. Once he recognised the potential of Earth Day, Hayes built a national staff to promote events across the country. About 10% of the United States’ population, which at that point totaled 20 million people, took to the streets, parks, and even auditoriums to showcase the impact of industrial development over the last century and a half.

So what can you do to further this work? Even though Earth Day has already passed, caring about the environment isn’t just linked to one day. You can do your part during the other 364 days of the year. It first starts with awareness, and this is the easiest one. Being conscious, and helping spread consciousness about environmental issues allows people to pay more attention to what’s happening around them. 

Other Earth Day activities include beach or park clean-ups, planting trees, and the classic reduce, reuse, and recycle. Schools across the country, including our very own Lawrence Township Public Schools, organize clean-ups, Green Fairs, and other activities to ensure students and community members are aware of the ways they can help keep their neighborhoods clean.

No matter if it’s as big as cleaning up 100 pieces of trash or as little as just trying to reduce your carbon footprint by making mindful choices, whatever you can do can go a long way to help our home.