Earth Day was first held on April 22, 1970. Gaylord Nelson, a United States senator from Wisconsin, organized a national demonstration to raise awareness about environmental issues. He wanted to increase public awareness about air and water pollution and had been inspired by student anti-war demonstrations and teach-ins on U.S. college campuses.
Nelson’s plan was quite successful as 20 million people showed up at demonstrations across the U.S. Rallies took place across the country and, by the end of that year, the U.S. government had created the Environmental Protection Agency.
Every year since then this date has been a time to focus on our environment. This year’s theme is Invest In Our Planet, issuing the call to focus on “engaging governments, institutions, businesses, and the more than 1 billion citizens who participate annually in Earth Day to do their part,” according to Earthday.org.
Here are some suggestions from Earthday.org of ways that people can honour Earth Day this year — and not just Earth Day, but every day.
- Pick up trash
- Organize a community cleanup
- Reduce plastic use
- Reusable bags
- Compost
- Don’t use pesticides
- Nurture pollinators in your yard
- Buy local
- Grow an organic garden
- Use environmentally friendly cleaning products
- Turn off lights not in use
“Businesses, governments, and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis and lighting the spark to accelerate change towards a green, prosperous, and equitable future,” President of Earthday.org Kathleen Rogers said. “We must join together in our fight for the green revolution, and for the health of future generations. The time is now to Invest In Our Planet.”
Click here to learn more about the Earth Day 2023 theme.
Image by Sergio Hernández from Pixabay