Warning: Undefined variable $page_cta in /var/www/vhosts/dev.fastspot.com/httpdocs/clients/siena/templates/basic/content.php on line 10
EARTH DAY
A Brief History
The first “Earth Day” was designated for April 22, 1970. However, it traces its origins to a book published in 1962 entitled Silent Spring. Rachel Carson’s book sold more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, raising awareness and concern for the life of the planet, the environment, and the negative impacts of pollution on public health. The contributions of Carson to the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 is what Earth Day commemorates. It provided a voice to an emerging environmental consciousness placing concern for the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants as a vital matter for humanity.
In 1969, as the nation witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, CA, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin was moved to action, envisioning a day-long event to focus attention on damage to our common home. (Wisconsin), and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California[ET1] . Beginning as a campus-focused initiative, it expanded to include a wide range of organizations (civic, religious, etc.). The date of April 22 was chosen because it falls at many colleges and universities between Spring Break and Final Exams and could thus maximize student participation. Word about the proposed event went viral – decades before the advent of social media! More than 20 million Americans (10% of the population) went to parks, auditoriums, and took to the streets to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first-of-their-kind environmental laws, protecting millions of men, women, and children from disease and death and hundreds of species from extinction.
In 1990, efforts were initiated to take Earth Day global, mobilizing over 200 million people in 141 countries, thrusting environmental issues onto the world stage. As a direct result, nationwide efforts promoting recycling increased significantly. The 1990 global celebrations of Earth Day also played a major role in the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Fast forward ten years. Earth Day 2000 focused its attention on a larger agenda: global warming and a push for clean energy. Over 5,000 environmental organizations in 184 countries engaged hundreds of millions of people to take action on behalf of the planet. Since 2000, annual participation in Earth Day has increased to as many as 1 billion people. It is now considered to be the largest secular observance in the world, a day of action promoting awareness of the challenges of climate change and the urgency for change of human behavior on behalf of the planet and its inhabitants.
As we commemorate Earth Day 2023, we call upon all members of the Siena Community to deepen awareness of the crisis confronting the planet and its inhabitants and take positive steps to promote a more sustainable lifestyle.