Earth Day History

Earth Day History started over thirty years ago with the first official Earth Day celebration taking place on April 22, 1970. According to the California Community Environmental Council: "Earth Day was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson after a trip he took to Santa Barbara right after that horrific oil spill off our coast in 1969. He was so outraged by what he saw that he went back to Washington and passed a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth."

Others say that Earth Day actually started evolving in 1962 with the growing concerns about the environment while air pollution was linked to disease and death in New York City and Los Angeles, growing concern over the use of pesticides, widespread fill kills reported in the Great lakes and probably the icing on the cake when Cleveland's Cuyahoga River actually burst into flames due to being polluted by large amounts of oil and other toxic chemicals.

Whether it started in the 60's or 70's it has been a driving force behind promoting and raising awareness with issues involving the earth. Today people are more involved in recycling, reusing, environmental protection and looking into biodiesel and other forms of alternative fuels.

The National Environmental Policy Act became a law on January 1, 1970. The first official Earth Day was held during that same year, in April of 1970. Since the first Earth Day, there have been several legislation changes related to the environment including the Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and more. According to the U.S. EPA, the date has helped create awareness for environmental causes and has helped put new regulations into effect over the years.http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/earthday/02.htm