The world has been celebrating Earth Day every year on April 22 since 1990. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about environmental changes and highlight measures to save the planet from their adverse effects.
Here are some surprising facts about this Day:
Earth Day is on April 22 because of college schedules:
The date for Earth Day was largely dictated by the schedules of the college students Hayes and Nelson were hoping to attract. April 22 fell on a weekday during the school year—nestled between spring break and final exams, when the weather was mild enough to allow people to be outside.
Earth Day was created by a senator:
Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, was growing increasingly concerned over the state of the U.S. environment in the 1960s. After a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. in January 1969, he had the idea to launch a nationwide, environmentally-focused teach-in on college campuses, drawing inspiration from the anti-war movements against the Vietnam War occurring on campuses around the country. Nelson recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to help bring the idea to the public.
More than 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day:
Millions of people participated in the first Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970. The event shut down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, as people demonstrated and participated in street clean-ups.
“The holiday mood on Fifth Avenue was exemplified by members of the architectural firm of Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde, who spread a yellow and‐white quilt on the asphalt near 57th Street, put a tulip in a wine bottle for a centerpiece, and enjoyed a picnic in the sun. A laughing crowd gathered around them and sang, ‘Happy Earth Day to You’.
Earth Day went global in 1990:
Millions of people participated in the first Earth Day movement, which led to the passage of key environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act in the U.S. later that year.
“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,” says the earthday.org history page.
But its impact spans larger than just one country. The movement went global in 1990 after a group of environmental leaders approached Hayes to organize another major campaign for the planet, which mobilized 200 million people in 141 countries.
In the new millennium, the movement switched its focus to campaign against global warming, and as recently as 2020, over 1 billion people worldwide participated in Earth Day actions.
Tens of millions of trees have been planted on Earth Day:
Some 18 million acres of forest are lost every year due to deforestation, per the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. To combat this, earthday.org founded the Canopy Project in 2010 and says it has since planted tens of millions of trees around the world.
The Paris Agreement opened for signature on Earth Day:
The Paris Agreement, the most significant international climate accord in history, was opened for signature on Earth Day in 2016. The treaty has more than 190 signatories, all of whom agreed to reduce carbon emissions and carry out other actions to reduce climate change.
