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Celebrating Earth Day By Karen Balkin While our Earth is arguably millions of years old, Earth Day—the day set aside to commemorate and demonstrate our support for the protection of our planet—is just 50 years old. Earth Day was first celebrated on March 21, 1970. That was the day of the spring equinox, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. Peace activist John McConnell spoke about denoting a day to honor Earth and the ideals of a peaceful planet at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference in San Francisco in 1969. Earth Day was sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by then-Secretary General of the United Nations, U Thant. The First Earth Day Celebration About a month later, on April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson—a United States Senator from Wisconsin— organized an Earth Day celebration focused on the United States and its growing environmental problems. He had seen the massive 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and knew something had to be done. Senator Nelson originally conceived Earth Day as an environmental teach-in—similar to the anti-Vietnam War teach-ins—that would bring the environmental concerns of the people to the attention of its political leaders. He chose April 22—which was a Wednesday in 1970—rather than March 21, the spring equinox, because he wanted to maximize the number of students who would be on campus at that time. April 22, 1970, did not fall during spring break, nor did it conflict with either Passover or Easter. And, Nelson reasoned, it was late enough in spring for the weather to be warm enough for outdoor activities in most of the country. The United Nations celebrates both the spring equinox and April 22 as Earth Days. This first April Earth Day was celebrated by about 20 million Americans at 2,000 colleges and universities, about 10,000 primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities that came together to show their support for badly needed environmental reform. New York City and Washington, D.C. The New York City division of the national Earth Day movement was led by Fred Kent, a student at the time. He rented an office, recruited volunteers, and managed to persuade Mayor John Lindsey to shut down Fifth Avenue for a parade and let the group use Central Park for the celebration. The mayor’s support was key to the success of the first Earth Day in New York City, drawing over a million participants. In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Congress was recessed so its members could meet with and talk to their constituents about environmental issues at Earth Day events. Discussion Starters • Do you remember the first Earth Day celebration in 1970? Did you attend any activities? • Why do you think the first Earth Day was so successful? ActivityConnection.com - Celebrating Earth Day - Page 1

• Did Earth Day change the way you do things? For example, did you start recycling? • Do you think Earth Day still needs to be celebrated, or will the laws and activities in place now be enough to help the environment? • How do you participate in Earth Day? The Impact of Earth Day The impact of Earth Day on environmental challenges facing the United States was enormous. By the end of 1970, some of the first major political initiatives to actually help save the environment, including the beginning of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), had begun. The EPA worked to ban the use of the insecticide DDT, and within five years had accomplished that planet-protecting task. Congress also passed the Safe Drinking Water Act and began to set emissions and engine efficiency standards for vehicles. According to a statement issued by the EPA, “Public opinion polls indicate that a permanent change in national priorities follow Earth Day, 1970. When polled in May 1971, 25 percent of the U.S. public declared protecting the environment to be an important goal, a 2,500 percent increase over 1969.” Thanks to the impetus provided by Earth Day, many Americans began putting the concepts of environmental protection into action. Recycling is now a priority in families and communities, animals once on the endangered list are now thriving worldwide, and the Earth Day Network works with hundreds of thousands of schools across the planet to integrate the ideals of environmental protection into everyday curriculum. Earth Day Canada Canada celebrated its first Earth Day on September 11, 1980. Organized by Paul D. Tinari, a graduate student at Queen’s University, the first Canadian Earth Day officially opened with a ceremonial tree planting and included educational lectures and trash pick-up by students. Earth Day Canada (EDC) is now a national environmental charity that provides practical knowledge and tools, and organizes easy-to-accomplish events that support a healthier environment. EcoKids, meanwhile, provides free educational resources for students and teachers and helps them integrate earth-friendly lessons into their curriculum. Earth Day Becomes an International Event By 1990, over 200 million people in 141 countries were participating in Earth Day. It had taken 20 years, but now environmental issues were being seen as important international problems that required worldwide cooperation to solve. From the Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb—when climbers from the United States, the Soviet Union, and China climbed Mt. Everest together and collected more than two tons of trash left by previous climbing expeditions—to celebrations in cities and towns all over the planet, Earth Day had come of age. ActivityConnection.com - Celebrating Earth Day - Page 2

How Much Do You Know About Earth Day? Test your knowledge of Earth Day with these fun questions. 1. Who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the founding of Earth Day? Senator Gaylord Nelson. 2. There are actually three Earth Days. Can you name them? The spring equinox Earth Day celebrated on March 21, Earth Day celebrated internationally on April 22, and World Environment Day on June 6. 3. Why was April 22 chosen by Senator Gaylord Nelson as Earth Day? Because he wanted to maximize the number of students who would be on campus and could attend the teach-ins. April 22, 1970, did not fall during spring break nor did it conflict with either Passover or Easter. 4. Where was the first major international conference on environmental issues held? It was sponsored by the United Nations and held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. 5. Who is the patron saint of ecologists? Pope John Paul II proclaimed St. Francis to be the patron saint of ecologists in 1980. 6. At the annual Earth Day celebration at the United Nations, a special bell is rung. What is this bell called? The Peace Bell. 7. What is the name of the international organization dedicated to preserving Earth’s natural resources, including diverse plant and animal life, and where was it founded? Greenpeace, founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1971. 8. Which man-made disaster led directly to the founding of Earth Day? The oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, in 1969. 9. The Canopy Project is one of the Earth Day Network’s largest sustained projects. What is its goal? To plant 10 million trees worldwide, especially in impoverished areas. 10. Throughout the world, there are various political parties whose goal is environmental protection. Collectively, what are these organizations called? Green parties. Earth Day and the Internet Earth Day 2000 marked the first time the Internet was used as the primary organizing tool, nationally and internationally. The event recruited more than 5,000 environmental groups outside the United States and reached hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries—a new record. From a talking drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, to the thousands of people who gathered in the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the 30th anniversary of Earth Day was an exciting milestone. ActivityConnection.com - Celebrating Earth Day - Page 3

How Ecologically Aware Are You? Do you know how to use Earth’s resources wisely and protect the environment? See how many of the following questions you can answer: 1. Rachel Carson wrote a best-selling book that launched the environmental movement. What was its title? Silent Spring. 2. What fuel provides most of the energy used in the U.S.? Petroleum. 3. Which household appliance uses the most energy? Refrigerators. 4. Which appliance uses the second most amount of energy? Clothes dryer. 5. Some electronic devices are called “phantom carriers.” What does that mean? A phantom carrier is a device that uses electricity even when it’s off. Examples include mobile phone chargers and media players with digital displays. 6. Which country has the greatest supply of fresh water? Canada. 7. Which plant is sensitive to air pollution and has been used as a monitor of air quality? Lichen that grow on trees and rocks. 8. How much can composting reduce household waste? Proper composting can reduce household waste by as much as 50 percent. 9. Can you name the major cause of urban outdoor air pollution? According to the World Health Organization, “Both 'mobile' sources (i.e. cars) and 'stationary' sources (i.e. smoke stacks) make significant contributions to urban outdoor air pollution. Some of the major sources include exhaust fumes from vehicles, emissions from manufacturing facilities (i.e. factories) and power generation (i.e. smoke stacks of coal fired power plants). Also in those cities where residential use of coal and wood for cooking and heating is permitted, the emissions from households using these fuels can make an important contribution to the level of urban outdoor air pollution.” About the author: Karen Balkin comes to ActivityConnection.com from Highlights for Children, where she served as a copywriter and assistant manager; Pearson Education/Prentice Hall where she served as a development editor; and most recently McGraw-Hill Education, where she served as digital editor and assistant academic designer. ActivityConnection.com - Celebrating Earth Day - Page 4