Earth Day
Among the proponents of Earth Day were the people in the front lines of fighting this disaster, Selma Rubin, Marc McGinnes, and Bud Bottoms, founder of Get Oil Out.The extraordinary attention garnered by Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, the famous 1968 Earthrise NASA photograph of the Earth from the Moon, the saturation news coverage given to the Santa Barbara oil spill[17] and the Cuyahoga River catching fire in early 1969[18] led Nelson to think the time was ripe for an environmental initiative.As a result of interactions with his staff and with Fred Dutton,[19] a prominent Democratic operative who had been Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign manager, Nelson became convinced that environmental teach-ins on college campuses could serve as such a vehicle.[citation needed] Nelson asked public interest lawyer Anthony Roisman[22] to establish a non-profit, Environmental Teach-In, Inc., to manage the campaign, and recruited a small board of directors.In April, more than 10,000 primary and secondary schools engaged in Earth Day activities, mostly education and service actions like beach clean-ups, tree planting, and recycling.[citation needed] Walt Kelly created an anti-pollution poster featuring his comic strip character Pogo with the quotation "We have met the enemy and he is us" to promote the 1970 Earth Day."[38] At a meeting of the Environmental Teach-In board of directors, the finance committee chair arrived with a check for $20,000 (equivalent to $156,915 in 2023) from Standard Oil of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil).[citation needed] Individual donations were a significant source of funding, generally accompanied by a contribution slip from the Earth Day Ad providing the donor's name and address.[44] As the tone of major planned Earth Day activities shifted to become less academic and more confrontational, and the Environmental Action newsletter emphasized the need for broad structural change, interest in the event began to mount among college student activists.[citation needed] The delicate line straddled by organizers was to attract seasoned activists who would demand far-reaching change without alienating the middle class whose active participation and political support were seen as essential.Earth Day included events that focused on fighting freeways, protecting the ozone layer, organic food, whales and endangered species, oil spills, the military use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, overpopulation, peeling lead paint in ghetto housing, opposition to the supersonic transport, and myriad other topics.Moreover, he viewed the environment as a progressive wedge issue that would position him as clearly distinct from President Nixon's ultra-conservative "Southern Strategy,"[50] in a struggle for the soul of the Republican Party.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.The master of ceremonies for the Columbia Gorge event was the TV star, John Ratzenberger, from Cheers, and the headlining musician was the "Father of Rock and Roll", Chuck Berry.[59] The song featured vocals from Lynn Anderson, Butch Baker, Shane Barmby, Billy Hill, Suzy Bogguss, Kix Brooks, T. Graham Brown, The Burch Sisters, Holly Dunn, Foster & Lloyd, Vince Gill, William Lee Golden, Highway 101, Shelby Lynne, Johnny Rodriguez, Dan Seals, Les Taylor, Pam Tillis, Mac Wiseman, and Kevin Welch."[62] Water-related events were held on every continent, including water workshops, exhibitions, concerts, and more in Togo, Egypt, the Cook Islands, Jordan, Palestine, Japan, Venezuela, Slovenia, Nigeria, and Canada.Washington, D.C., hosted actor Edward Norton, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, and James Hansen of NASA to deliver a strong global warming message and call for tough and fair climate action by Congress.O.A.R., Umphrey's McGee, Warren Haynes, Mambo Sauce, and Blake Lewis of American Idol entertained enthusiastic crowds, and the event was covered live by CNN and The Weather Channel, plus scores of other media that carried the Call for Climate message.[84] Through the Global Day of Conversation, more than 200 elected officials in more than 39 countries took part in active dialogues with their constituents about their efforts to create sustainable green economies and reduce their carbon footprints.[88] The nine-hour event featured more than 70 high-profile speakers, including leadership from the faith, labor, civil rights, environmental communities, the private sector, leading climate scientists, celebrities, Cabinet Secretaries, international political leaders, and local government officials.[citation needed] In partnership with the Peace Corps, Earth Day Network worked with local volunteers to implement environmental and civic education programs, tree plantings, village clean-ups, and recycling seminars in rural areas in Ukraine, the Philippines, Georgia, Albania, and Kolkata, India.[citation needed] As part of a nationwide commemoration of the 40th anniversary in Morocco, the government announced a unique National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development, the first commitment of its kind in Africa and the Arab world, which will inform new environmental laws for the country.To illustrate that climate change is not a remote problem for our leaders but is impacting real people, animals, and places everywhere, EDN collected images sent into #faceofclimate and displayed them in a collage at thousands of events around the world from schools to parks to government buildings.[106] Meanwhile, stories of hope inspired communities to take action[107] and MobilizeU, a program to educate and activate college students around Earth Day and environmental issues, expanded in 2013 to 296 universities in 51 countries on six continents and in 46 US states.[108] In Washington, D.C., EDN presented Earth Month at Union Station, a four-week series of events that featured an environmental film festival, renewable energy demonstrations, farmers markets, NASA educational exhibits, and public talks by scientists and astronauts.Focused on three key elements – buildings, energy, and transportation – the campaign aims to help cities accelerate their transition to a cleaner, healthier, and more economically viable future through improvements in efficiency, investments in renewable technology, and regulation reform.[citation needed] EDN designed and executed four campaigns for its major constituencies: Green Cities, MobilizeU, Climate Education Week, and Faith Mobilization, all of which concentrated on the organization's theme: "It's Our Turn to Lead".[116] EDN developed an extensive global outreach strategy to promote Earth Day and assist organizations with producing a variety of actions, including teach-ins, in their own communities.[138] In November 2023, to bring public attention to the health threat that microplastics pose, earthday.org released its report Babies vs. Plastics, which collated some of the latest science on the subject."[162] Another criticism of Earth Day is that after so many years, its continued, repetitious existence promotes the illusion that current human efforts are enough to eliminate future environmental disaster.
Earth HourJohn McConnellThe Blue MarbleApollo 17April 22environmental protectionUNESCOSan Franciscopeace activistU ThantGaylord Nelsonteach-inDenis HayesWalter ReutherUnited Auto WorkersPresidential Medal of FreedomParis Agreemententry into forceclimate protection treaty2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference1969 Santa Barbara oil spillUnion OilSanta Barbara, Californiablew outSelma RubinMarc McGinnesPete McCloskeyNational Environmental Policy ActAlan CranstonPaul EhrlichDavid BrowerGarrett HardinRichard NixonPat NixonWhite HouseRachel CarsonSilent SpringCuyahoga RiverFred Duttonteach-insVietnamdominosAirlie HouseJulien KoenigWalt KellyWe have met the enemy and he is usWhole Earth Catalogfederal legislationUniversity of MichiganSaul AlinskyCrosstown ExpresswayColumbia UniversityFred KentPete GrannisEdmund MuskieKristin AlexandreFifth AvenueJohn LindsayCentral ParkUnion SquareManhattanThe New York TimesNewsweekFairmount ParkRalph NaderIan McHargGeorge WaldHugh ScottAllen GinsbergMike McCabeenvironmental issuesEarth SummitMount EverestEarth Day 20 International Peace ClimbEdward FuriaHewlett-PackardchlorofluorocarbonsGeorge, WashingtonColumbia RiverJim WhittakerSoviet UnionJohn RatzenbergerCheersChuck BerryWarner Bros. RecordsKix BrooksBrooks & DunnPam TillisLynn AndersonButch BakerBilly HillSuzy BoggussT. Graham BrownThe Burch SistersHolly DunnFoster & LloydVince GillWilliam Lee GoldenHighway 101Shelby LynneJohnny RodriguezDan SealsLes TaylorMac WisemanKevin WelchHot Country Songsglobal warmingclean energytalking drumNational MallCook IslandsJordanPalestineVenezuelaSloveniaNigeriaCanadaenvironmental justicecleanupSeattleWashingtonUkrainecleanupsCaracasTuvaluMadrid