What's the Origin of Earth Day?

Each Earth Day, people all over the world take a step back, re-examine their lifestyle, and feel guilty about being such a rotten son or daughter to Mother Earth. Think about it, she gives you all sorts of things like amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties ... and what do you do in return? Recycle a few cans? Sheesh.

If you wanna make it up to her, don't wait for Mother's Day. Millions of do-gooders around the planet use April 22nd as an opportunity to make positive changes for the benefit of the planet itself -- and they've been doing so for the last 40 years.

So how did this whole thing get started? And why? To get to the bottom of these all-important questions, I've enlisted the help of the Earth Day Network's own Emily Hartman. Here's what I learned.
Who invented Earth Day? Is it attributed any one individual?

Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson (WI) who proposed the first nationwide environmental protest or national "teach-in," based on the height of protest against the Vietnam War and Nelson latched on to the idea. He hired a young staff, led by Denis Hayes, to coordinate these "teach-in" activities across the country.

Was Earth Day always celebrated on Aprill 22nd?

Yes, Earth Day has always been on April 22.

What inspired Senator Nelson to give Mother Earth her very own holiday? Were there some specific events?

In 1969, the year before the first Earth Day, the nation was suffering an environmental crisis. Two environmental disasters grabbed the country's attention. One was the massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The other was when the polluted Cuyahoga River in Cleveland actually caught fire.

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.

What kinds of activities were included in the very first Earth Day celebration?

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.

Do you think the holiday's founders expected to see Earth Day celebrate its 40th anniversary?

The first Earth Day was seen as an environmental "teach in" and was seen as a national event. Earth Day 1990, run by Denis Hayes, had 20 staff members and a board of 115 directors, among them prominent politicians, celebrities, businesspeople and religious leaders. It drew 200 million people to the streets from 140 countries.