In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences from either the law or bad press. Until this point, mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment threatens human health.
The Idea for the First Earth Day
Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin conceived the idea of a teach-in on college campuses to raise awareness about the deteriorating environment
- He recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins
- Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment and there were massive rallies across the nation
EARTH DAY 2010
Over the decades, EARTHDAY.ORG has brought hundreds of millions of people into the environmental movement, creating opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism in 193 countries.
- Earth Day engages more than 1 billion people every year and has become a major stepping stone along the pathway of engagement around the protection of the planet.
EARTH DAY TODAY
The fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day.
- Disillusioned by the low level of ambition following the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and frustrated with international environmental lethargy, citizens of the world are rising up to demand far greater action for our planet and its people.
1990: EARTH DAY GOES GLOBAL
In 1990, a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes to once again organize another major campaign for the planet. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.
- It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
EARTH DAY FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM
As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy
- With 5,000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day 2000 built both global and local conversations, leveraging the power of the Internet to organize activists around the world, while also featuring a drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa.
