We know April 22 as Earth Day, but when and why did it start?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there were 20 million Americans that celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970 through organized events and demonstrations. In fact; the EPA didn't even exist until then. Before 1970, there were no laws put into place and very little attention drawn to large environmental issues plaguing the nation. Few lawmakers tried to drag these issues out of the dark, but one Wisconsin senator knew things needed to be changed.
U.S Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin noted detrimental environmental factors in the early 70's and sought to bring attention to these issues through the concept of an "Earth Day."
According to UPI, it was a massive oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara in 1969 that began to worry Nelson and other environmentalists.
Nelson knew that he could not create such a large initiative alone and needed to recruit help from a California senator. Nelson also hired activist, Dennis Hayes, to begin organizing groups across the nation and put his plan into action. The rest was history.
Earth Day continues today as a reminder to observe, appreciate and preserve our planet's resources.