What is Earth Day?

What this episode covers

Once a year a holiday known as Earth Day roles around. For those of us that are in school, it's a time to plant trees, start recycling programs and do other "earthy" things. But what does that mean? It seems that most people treat Earth Day day a bit like Valentines day or Saint Patricks day. Its simply an event on the calendar that doesn't seem to have a lot of meaning anymore. In fact, the role Earth Day plays has changed since it was first concieved. But to understand that we need some history Earth Day History 101 To really understand Earth Day and why it came about you need to understand what was happening in the 1960s, because it was this decade that spawned what we have today. What was happening in the 1960s? During the 1960's the United States was in a war overseas (Vietnam). It was also having countless environmental disasters that started to outrage the public. One Senator, Gaylord Nelson, noticed a disconnect between the environmental policy that local people wanted and what the politicians in the government were willing to make into law. He wanted that to change. The "Father of Earth Day" The Earth Day we have now come to celebrate was first championed by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. But, to really understand the importance of this first Earth Day it's important to put the event in perspective. In 1963 he convinced president Kennedy to go on an environmental tour The first Earth Day - 1970 Even though there is some debate as to the official first day of Earth Day (some say it was March 22nd of that year). The Earth day we celebrate today came from the event on April 22nd 1970.

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