The History of Earth Day
By: Jenna Wise
As Easter passes and the weather begins to warm, people begin to spend longer periods of time outside the walls of their dorm and look forward to the end of finals and the beginning of summer. In high school (for me at least) it always began to feel like summer just about the time Memorial Day rolls around. However, there is one important holiday between the present and Memorial Day that many people forget about: Earth Day.
Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been recognized as a national American holiday. During a time period when many Americans did not recognize the importance of protecting the environment, the creation of Earth Day lead over 22 million Americans to take to the streets to promote the environment and clean up various local communities. By the end of 1970, Earth Day had influenced the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air and Water Acts as well as the Endangered Species Act. Since then, what was once a national holiday has gone global, with 5,000 environmental groups currently existing in 184 countries.
However, Earth Day did not only succeed in bringing attention to environmental problems of the time; it also succeeded in uniting both Republicans and Democrats and lead the two parties to work together to create the environmental laws and regulations that exist today. In 2020, Earth Day will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and although it did not come without obstacles, I think it is safe to say that it has made the world a better place to live despite the fact that it is a holiday that has become forgotten about by many.