Numerous communities celebrate Earth Day Week, an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces. (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies Hi, It seems you are visiting us from India, would you like to visit our India pages? By the time April 22 came around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. For the next two years, Hilbert and students worked to plan the first Earth Day. No thank you, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. and decisive action on global warming and clean energy. Originated in 1970, the event is now coordinated and celebrated internationally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries across the globe. Earth Day and aims to inspire awareness and appreciation for Earth's environment. The two did not combine forces over disagreements about leadership of combined organization and incompatible structures and strategies. Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the Margaret Mead, "Earth Day," EPA Journal, March 1978. Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. Project Survival, an early environmentalism-awareness education event, was held at Northwestern University on January 23, 1970. of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy Nelson chose the date to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an "environmental teach-in". I was Speaker Coordinator but had tremendous help from Lindsay staffer Judith Crichton. Under the leadership of labor leader Walter Reuther, the United Auto Workers was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day. 400 km. The April 22 Earth Day in 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. In 1968, Morton Hilbert and the U.S. Public Health Service organized the Human Ecology Symposium, an environmental conference for students to hear from scientists about the effects of environmental degradation on human health. "[18], Walter Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers, made the first donation to support the first Earth Day in the amount of $2,000. The new earth is added and willow branches are placed atop the gravesite. Next, joss sticks are placed by the grave. Earth day was created to help bring awareness and support for environmental protection around the world. [22], The Earth Day 20 Foundation highlighted its April 22 activities in George, Washington, near the Columbia River with a live satellite phone call with members of the historic Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb who called from their base camp on Mount Everest to pledge their support for world peace and attention to environmental issues. Then in January 1969, he and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The Christian festival of All Saints Day comes from a conviction that there is a spiritual connection between those in Heaven and on Earth. Groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife united on Earth Day around these shared common values. For Earth Day 2017, the Earth Day Network created four tool kits to aid organizations wanting to hold teach-ins to celebrate the theme "Environmental and Climate Literacy. The April 22 Earth Day is usually celebrated with outdoor performances, where individuals or groups perform acts of service to Earth. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. The principal activities taking place on the first Earth Day included educational lectures given by experts in various environmental fields, garbage and litter pick-up by students along city roads and highways as well as tree plantings to replace the trees killed by Dutch elm disease.[41][42]. A memorable event took place at the UN in Geneva, celebrating a Minute for Peace ringing the Japanese Shinagawa Peace Bell with the help of the Geneva Friendship Association and the Global Youth Foundation,[49] directly after in deep mourning about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant catastrophe 10 days before. .Help! Pre-1960 grassroots activism against DDT in Nassau County, New York, and widespread opposition to open-air nuclear weapons tests with their global nuclear fallout, had inspired Rachel Carson to write her influential bestseller, Silent Spring (1962). the awareness of our climate crisis grows, so does civil society mobilization, Suite 700 [54] Moreover, it did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover, and was late enough in spring to have decent weather. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. This was the first of several events held at university campuses across the United States in the lead-up to the first Earth Day. "[27] The four toolkits are: 2017 also saw the Earth Day Network co-organize the March for Science rally and teach-in at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.[27], In 2019, Earth Day Network partnered with Keep America Beautiful and National Cleanup Day for the inaugural nationwide Earth Day Clean Up. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. It is a national holiday in numerous historically Catholic countries. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event "Earth Day". the National Mall in Washington, DC for a First Amendment Rally. 5 hours . More than three million gallons of oil spewed, killing more than 10,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, and sea lions. [34] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the planned activities were moved online. observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day With Hayes also thought the conference might be the beginning of a real movement. Visakhapatnam: Marking the 'World Pangolin Day', Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), Visakhapatnam, conducted an awareness programme about … The Sunday following Thanksgiving is always the busiest travel day of the year in the United States. Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted. Easter Day Apr 4, .Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church. campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Please try again. Wright, Sylvia (July 1980), "Canada's First Earth Day Scheduled for Sept. 11". [22] Among the disagreements, key Earth Day 20 Foundation organizers were critical of Earth Day 1990 for including on their board Hewlett-Packard, a company that at the time was the second-biggest emitter of chlorofluorocarbons in Silicon Valley and refused to switch to alternative solvents. Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.. Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, and Earth Day 2021 will occur on Thursday, April 22—the holiday's 51st anniversary. An unexpected error occurred. What Do People Do. +1 (202) 518- 0044 The most common St Patrick's Day symbol is the shamrock. Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with many people participating in the activities in thousands of places including Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; Tuvalu; Manila, Philippines; Togo; Madrid, Spain; London; and New York City. How Australian stars celebrated Valentine's Day 2021. e-mail; Comments 0. It was first celebrate in 1970, and now includes events in more than 193 countries. 100 km/hr. Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — to take to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts. The event ultimately enlisted more than 5,000 environmental groups outside the United States, reaching hundreds of millions of people in a record 183 countries. Nash, Garrett Hardin, McGinnes and others went on to develop the first undergraduate Environmental Studies program of its kind at the University of California at Santa Barbara. EARTHDAY.ORG’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Year: Day Mother's Day is Celebrated On: Mothering Sunday in the U.K. [22] In terms of marketing, Earth Day 20 had a grassroots approach to organizing and relied largely on locally based groups like the National Toxics Campaign, a Boston-based coalition of 1,000 local groups concerned with industrial pollution. Other notable attendees included consumer protection activist and presidential candidate Ralph Nader, landscape architect Ian McHarg, Nobel prize-winning Harvard biochemist George Wald, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott, and poet Allen Ginsberg. Ahn Young-Joon/AP Images. "The big break came when Mayor Lindsay agreed to shut down Fifth Avenue for the event. In Brazil, the "Dia da mentira" ("Day of the lie") is also celebrated on April 1. accepted as the smell of prosperity. Fred Kent took the lead in renting an office and recruiting volunteers. 48 miles/hr. As Disillusioned by the It would be easy to follow the path that these states took, Not every state has to have the same name for the day, But every state should celebrate a similar idea. [email protected]. 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, University of California at Santa Barbara, "Labor and environmentalists have been teaming up since the first Earth Day", "Meet 'Mr. Among the group were Fred Kent, Pete Grannis, and Kristin and William Hubbard. [6] The first Earth Day was focused on the United States. "[17] It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, chaired by the first Earth Day 1970 organizer Denis Hayes, according to whom Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. A year after that, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. World Wetlands Day celebrated in Manipur, Assam - Along with the rest of the world, the World Wetlands Day was observed in the northeast states of Manipur and Assam.World Wetlands Day is observed every year on February 2 to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet. Earth’s Rotation Day is a great opportunity to brush up on astronomy facts. By tapping into some of the learnings, outcomes, and legacy of the first Earth Day, EARTHDAY.ORG is building a cohesive, coordinated, diverse movement, one that goes to the very heart of what EARTHDAY.ORG and Earth Day are all about — empowering individuals with the information, the tools, the messaging and the communities needed to make an impact and drive change. This year, World Marriage Day, observed annually on the second Sunday of February, will be celebrated Feb. 14, which also is the feast of St. Valentine and which since the eighth century has been a celebration of love and affection. It charted at number 74 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated May 5, 1990.[25]. Earth Day 1970 would come to provide a voice to this emerging environmental consciousness, and putting environmental concerns on the front page. "My amazing team, my manager, Jeffrey, my creative director Miriam, Josh … Tomb Sweeping Day is celebrated with families reuniting and traveling to their ancestors’ gravesites to pay their respects. The National Park Service, John Muir National Historic Site, has a celebration every year on or around Earth Day (April 21, 22 or 23), called Birthday-Earth Day, in recognition of Earth Day and John Muir's contribution to the collective consciousness of environmentalism and conservation.[55][56]. As a reaction to this disaster, activists were mobilized to create environmental regulation, environmental education, and Earth Day. [38][39] Other names circulated during preparations—Nelson himself continued to call it the National Environment Teach-In, but national coordinator Denis Hayes used the term Earth Day in his communications and press coverage of the event was "practically unanimous" in its use of "Earth Day", so the name stuck.