Today is Earth Day but does that mean exactly? It is an annual event, celebrated on April 22nd, that everyone comes together world wide to demonstrate their support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970 and is now coordinated globally and celebrated in more than 192 countries.
The idea came from Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the 1969 massive oil spill in California. He announced the idea for a "national teach-in on the environment" to the national media and persuaded a bunch of high power people to promote it. As a result, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Thousands of colleges and university's organized protest against the deterioration of the environment. Everyone came as one to support this major cause. Earth Day 1970 led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Act.
In 1990, it had reached over 200 million people in 141 countries and paved the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit. Today it is celebrated all over the world and is taught all throughout schools to help promote saving our planet. There are a lot of ways you can help out. You can recycle, you can pick up trash, you can donate, you can teach your children about the importance of Earth Day and how we can do it in our everyday lives. Below are links to donate if you would like.
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