Though we see the beauties of Earth when going about our everyday lives, do you ever just glance up when the sun is setting to take in the beautiful colors and hues? You’re just filled with the overwhelming sense that calms you, and makes it feel like nothing else matters during that second. That feeling happened because of the ground you are standing on, and magic like that should be celebrated every day. Nevertheless, every year we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, and of course, there is a history behind the reason why we do.
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. Senator of Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson came up with “Earth Day” as a way to get people to acknowledge the horrors that were caused by the black clouds of smoke and toxic air. These harmful elements were produced by factories all around the world, and Nelson hoped he could make people want to do something about it. According to EPA.gov, in December 1970, Congress created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that worked to confront environmental issues such as global warming.
Senator Nelson decided for April 22 to be Earth Day because the idea was mainly geared towards college students, and this date did not interfere with students’ well-needed spring break or their dreadful final exams (how considerate).
The Earth Day Network (EDN) is an environmental organization that was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment, as reported by National Geographic. Earth Day Network brings more than 20,000 sponsors and organizations in over 150 different countries to publicly support the Earth Day mission, not just on Earth Day, but year-round. With all the hard work of these companies, Earth Day is one of the largest public secular events in the world.
According to National Geographic, EDN is made up of a set of 10 core goals which include:
Advocacy: Encouraging individuals to meet with elected officials and prominent faces in the public to discuss environmental issues and how to manage them.
Climate Change: Raising awareness of climate change and explaining the ways in which we as humans harm the Earth, but also how we can fix the problems we created.
Conservation & Biology: Supporters of the change work together to conserve Earth’s biodiversity; in 2010, supporters planted more than 100 medicinal plants throughout rain forests in Yagirala Forest Reserve, which can be harvested and used for many different reasons in many different ways.
Education: Earth Day programs to educate students about the importance of keeping out Earth healthy!
Energy: Projects that help promote and develop renewable energy sources and technologies.
Food & Agriculture: Participants help spread awareness of farming practices and the use of chemical pesticides that get into the ground and do more damage than good.
Green Economy: Members advocate for the promotion of green industries that are connected to renewable energy.
Green Schools: There are more than 100,000 schools just in the U.S. making the change for schools to use renewable energy, healthy lunches, environmental activities, and overall to “be more green,” which would impact the earth for the better.
Recycling & Waste: Working to reduce the consumption and production of plastic and increase the amount of recycling.
Sustainable Development: Promoting the environmental practices that respect the world in its natural state.
There are many ways to show your appreciation for the Earth as simple as planting more trees in your yard or cutting down your consumption of plastic, but if you want to start making a change to your lifestyle to help improve the quality of the Earth, April 22 is a great time to start!