Earth day, we all know about it, we know what it’s for, but when and where was it thought of? 

Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues. It was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson, a democrat from Wisconsin. The modern day environmental movement started in the 1960’s. 

In the 1960’s many people became aware of the effects pollution had on the Earth and there became protest’ to make environmentalism part of the national political agenda. So, Nelson was determined to show the federal government that the Earth was at risk. 

The first Earth day was held on April 22, 1970 in most major cities in the U.S. Earth day was effective in raising awareness about environmental issues and was the main start to a series of environmental legislation including the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Surfaces Mining Control and Reclamation Act. 

Since 1970, Earth Day has grown to be something bigger and went global. Every year millions of people participate and the Earth Day Network (EDN) collaborates with more that 17,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. According to the EDN, more than 1 billion people are involved with Earth day and its activities making it “the largest secular civic event in the world” .

This year Earth Day will be held on April 22, 2020 and will be the 50 year anniversary of Earth Day. The theme this year is “climate action” and will be celebrated with a Great Global Clean Up, a day dedicated to removing trash from public places and parks