Earth Day: Celebration began 45 years ago

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 22:26 YT&Twebzine

A movement that began in 1970 is now an international event.

In 1970, as angry American students protested the Vietnam War, a U.S. senator decided that all this young energy could help another cause -- the environment. And so Earth Day was born.

Today, April 22, is Earth Day – and it is also the 45th anniversary of the first-ever celebration bringing about awareness of the environment. But things are different now. Here's how:

The first Earth Day enjoyed bipartisan support.

     The founder was Sen. Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), a Wisconsin Democrat. Nelson had been inspired by an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, according to the website EarthDay.org. He conceived the idea as a national teach-in about the environment.
      Pete McCloskey, then a Republican congressman from California, served as his co-chair. Denis Hayes, noted environmentalist, was the national coordinator. It was a success. The next day, The New York Times ran this headline on the front page: “Millions Join Earth Day Observances Across the Nation.”
     Today, environmental advocates still fight for regulations to keep the air and water clean -- but on a different playing field. Some vocal political leaders refute evidence that points to the connection between man-made pollution and global warming.

     The first Earth Day led to action.

     By the end of the month – April 29, 1970 – a presidential advisory council recommended “that key anti-pollution programs be merged into an Environmental Protection Administration, a new independent agency of the Executive Branch.” Later that year, Dec. 4, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed.
     But that wasn’t all. The Clean Air Act of 1970 was designed to protect the public from air pollution. There was also the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Now, various senators and representatives openly resist environmental regulations.

In March, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, sent a letter to state governors encouraging them to resist the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration's regulation requiring states to restructure power systems to reduce pollution.
"This proposed plan is already on shaky legal grounds, will be extremely burdensome and costly, and will not seriously address the global environmental concerns that are frequently raised to justify it." McConnell wrote. "Moreover, declining to go along with the administration’s legally dubious plan will give the other two branches of government time to address the proposal and will not put your state at risk in the interim."

In 1990, the 20th anniversary, Earth Day went global. Now, going global is a matter of getting on the Internet.

This year, for the 45th anniversary, activists will be everywhere – online. Photos or videos of favorite places will be posted on Twitter, Instagram, Vine or Google+ using the hashtag #NoPlaceLikeHome.
More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day, according to the organization.

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