Earth Day

Earth Day falls on the 22nd of April annually. This modern environmental movement was celebrated since 1970, and was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator then from Wisconsin. He proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it worked."

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Thus, Earth Day united people who were fighting valiantly for the survival of Earth and our future generation, and is still an even celebrated annually till today.