50th Anniversary Archives

Apr 21st Earth Day 2020 – Climate Action – Fun Facts

Ever wonder how Earth Day got started? We all know I have an insatiable curiosity that has been known to get me into trouble along with my overactive imagination. So of course, I did some digging and this is what I discovered on the eve of Earth Day:

Earth Day - Hands holding the earth

In 1963 Senator Gaylord Nelson arrived in Washington looking to make a fledgling conservation movement. The idea sparked by Rachel Carson’s New York Times Bestseller Silent Spring. The book which warned against the harmful effects of widespread pesticide usage.

Did you know that in 1963 Gaylord Nelson proposed a “conservation tour” to then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Arthur Schlesinger, a member of President Kennedy’s cabinet? Ultimately, the tense nuclear situation with the Soviet Union became the focus rather than environmental issues.

Senator Nelson didn’t give up. After he witnessed the aftermath of an oil spill in California in 1969, he doubled his efforts to raising environmental awareness enlisting support from both sides of the political spectrum.

Did you know Earth Day was inspired by Vietnam war protesters? The date April 22nd was chosen to appeal to college students intentionally by Senator Nelson and grad student Denis Hayes (who went on to internationalize the holiday and start the Earth Day Network, among other foundations). They strategically selected April 22 in order to attract more college students, who were known for being politically active during that era of protest. The date fell between spring break and final exams.

A strange combination of boisterous rallies and sober reflection on the state of the planet marked the first Earth Day. Twenty Million Americans took to the street to celebrate.

Just eight months after the first Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency was born, approved by Richard Nixon.

In 2009 the holiday became internationally known as Mother Earth Day. That same year during the Apollo 14 moon mission, Astronaunt Stuart Rossa, a former smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service, brought with him hundreds of tree seeds including Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas Fir. Upon their return to earth, these trees were planted around National Monuments, as well as in sites all over the world. After decades of growing side-by-side with their Earth cousins, the Moon Trees showed no differences. On Earth Day 2009, NASA, in partnership with the United States National Arboretum and American Forests, planted a second generation Moon Sycamore on the arboretum’s grounds in Washington, D.C.

Every year since 2016, there has been a new theme attached to the holiday. In anticipation for its 50^th anniversary in 2020 the theme is “Climate Action”. Despite the social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrations and conferences are still happening virtually rather than in person. To learn more, visit Earth Day 2020 website.