Quick Intro: Earth Day History

Every year on April 22 the world celebrates Earth Day, but much of the world knows nothing about Earth day history. Earth Day History began with an idea from one man. The man’s name was Gaylord Nelson, he was a senator from the state of Wisconsin. It was from his concern, for the environment, that Earth Day was born.

In 1962 Senator Nelson’s concern for environmental issues caused him to talk to President John Kennedy about a national conservation tour. President Kennedy agreed to this idea, and for five days President Kennedy visited eleven different states talking about issues of environmental conservation. This tour is what planted the seed for the future of the environmental movement.

It was the summer of 1969 when Senator Nelson decided to start a grassroots movement and hold a protest in the name of the environment. This is where Earth Day history really begins to come to life. People from around the nation gathered behind the idea of staging a large scale protest to tell the government that the environment was in need of help. The word was spread through newspapers and word of mouth. The entire United States was talking about this large protest. The first earth day demonstration was loosely organized by Senator’s Nelson’s small staff at an office in Washington DC. On April 22, 1970 Earth Day history would be written, as over 22 million Americans protested all over the United States for a change in environmental policies.

Over the years people continued to celebrate Earth Day every April 22. In the year 1990, twenty years after the first protest, Earth Day history would change. This would be the first time that the entire world would participate in the earth day celebrations. Ten years later for Earth Day 2000 another world-wide celebration would take place. This time the world would call out for global warming awareness. In Gabon Africa, drums traveled to villages to spread the word about taking care of our earth, as others all over the world took part in other activities. Today, children all over the world learn about earth day history in school. These children take part in earth day activities, and learn how to be environmentally conscious. This is all due to one man’s idea and concern for his world.

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Earth Day History