Earth Day

THE EVENT: Annual observance intended to promote public concern for environmental problems

DATE: Inaugurated on April 22, 1970

In many ways the first Earth Day in 1970 marked the birth of the environmental movement, as twenty million Americans either engaged in demonstrations or gathered to hear speeches. Although participation was disappointing during the 1970s, a growing number of grassroots organizations celebrated Earth Day throughout the 1980s, and in the intervening decades, participation in Earth Day activities continued to increase.

In June 1969, Democratic U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, having observed how anti-Vietnam War demonstrations and “teach-ins” had influenced public opinion, conceived of the idea of a large teach-in to educate the general public about the importance of environmental issues. He suggested that such an event should be planned for April 22, a day when many states commemorated Arbor Day and a day that would not conflict with the timing of final exams on college campuses. Recognizing the potential of the idea, a small group of concerned citizens founded the organization Environmental Action to sponsor the event. They were able to raise the modest sum of $125,000, and a dynamic young law student, Denis Hayes, was put in charge of publicizing and coordinating activities. Senator Nelson and Republican congressman Paul N. McCloskey of California were named official co-chairs of the event.

Numerous historical factors contributed to the great success of the first Earth Day. By the late 1960s, an environmental movement was developing, and a growing number of organizations were helping to sensitize the public to environmental problems, and an unprecedented number of publications on environmental themes were being produced by prominent writers, such as Rachel Carson, Walter Udall, Lynn White, and Paul R. Ehrlich. Of even greater significance, Americans across the country were witnessing the harmful effects of environmental damage. In 1968 and 1969, members of Congress reflected public opinion as they considered nearly 140 bills related to environmental issues, and state and local jurisdictions created and voted on various other environmental laws. Almost four months before Earth Day, President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which required analysis and review of public projects. For many people, especially the young, the impressive achievements of the Civil Rights movement represented a model for reform based on a moral appeal. In addition, the spirit of youthful rebellion embodied in the antiwar movement was inspiring parallel movements throughout American society. In short, Senator Nelson could not have chosen a more auspicious context for the launching of his idea.

Conservative business and political leaders were not enthusiastic about the idea of Earth Day. Although President Nixon’s press secretary announced the administration’s support for the day, the president took no active role in any of the events. While some members of the administration suspected that the observance was a means for advancing the agenda of liberal Democrats, Nixon’s secretary of the interior, Walter Hickel, urged Nixon to proclaim a national holiday and become an active participant. Hickel later wrote that he gave “marching orders” to Interior Department personnel to visit college campuses and fifteen hundred employees of the department did so. The White House was embarrassed when the press reported that Controller General James Bentley had spent sixteen hundred dollars in public funds to send telegram warnings of a possible left-wing plot after he observed that Earth Day fell on the birthday of Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin. Bentley was forced to apologize and pay for the telegrams with his own money.

April 22, 1970

In all measurable ways, the first Earth Day was a huge success. In New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia, large crowds gathered to hear speeches by politicians, poets, ecologists, and other concerned citizens. Some fifteen hundred college campuses, as well as ten thousand elementary and secondary schools, scheduled programs of one kind or another. The National Education Association estimated that about ten million school children participated in some kind of environmental activity for the day. Also, approximately two thousand communities planned environmental ceremonies of one kind or another.

An impressively diverse array of activities were conducted throughout the United States, and the atmosphere at many events was euphoric and theatrical. In Washington, DC, about ten thousand young people attended a rock concert in front of the Washington Monument. The University of Wisconsin held fifty-eight separate programs. To dramatize air-pollution problems caused by internal combustion engines, several universities held enthusiastic automobile-wrecking events called “wreck-ins.” Some localities also held “bike-ins.” In New York City, Fifth Avenue was closed to motor vehicle traffic for two hours. Many idealistic people helped pro-environmental efforts. At the University of Washington, four hundred people planted trees and shrubs during a “plant-in” in an abandoned area near the campus. In Ohio, one thousand students from Cleveland State University gathered litter and loaded it into trucks. In hundreds of communities, groups of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts held cleanup campaigns and picked up litter.

The first Earth Day was an occasion for numerous speeches, including many by the best-known spokespersons for the environmental movement. Barry Commoner, Paul Ehrlich, Ralph Nader, and the aging René Dubos were among the speakers in greatest demand. Both houses of Congress were adjourned for the day, and many politicians were seen at various rallies. Senator Nelson spoke on nine university campuses in Wisconsin, California, and Colorado. Senator Thomas McIntyre, who delivered fourteen speeches in his home state of New Hampshire, set the record for the greatest number of speeches given by one person on that first Earth Day.

No major acts of violence marred the celebrations, but scattered incidents of militancy did occur. At Boston’s Logan Airport, thirteen demonstrators were arrested for blocking traffic during a demonstration to protest a proposed expansion of the airport. In Washington, DC, about twenty-five hundred demonstrators assembled before the offices of the Department of the Interior to protest the approval of oil leases. Students at the University of California at Berkeley conducted a sit-in to register their disapproval of the presence on campus of job recruiters from Ford Motor Company, while at the University of Texas, twenty-six students were arrested for perching in trees to try to prevent the trees’ destruction.

Modern Earth Day Celebrations

In 1971, Earth Day was expanded into Earth Week, but the expanded observance was not successful. For a few years Earth Day attracted limited interest. By the mid-1980s, however, the celebration of Earth Day was regaining popularity, as environmentalists viewed the celebrations as a repudiation of President Ronald Reagan’s conservative environmental policies. Leaders of the environmental movement wisely decided to concentrate their efforts on commemorating the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day, and Denis Hayes was chosen as the chairperson of the occasion.

On April 22, 1990, an estimated 200 million people in 140 countries participated in Earth Day. Organizers claimed that this was the largest grassroots demonstration in history. For this occasion, Hayes had the assistance of a large coalition of environmentalist and other socially conscious groups, and together they raised and spent about $4 million. The day was celebrated with marches, rallies, parades, concerts, and a large assortment of activities on all continents. Although the largest demonstrations were held in the developed industrial countries, scattered events also took place within the poorer and less developed regions of the world.

In Boston, a crowd of 200,000 people turned out; in New York City’s Central Park, the various rallies attracted an estimated 750,000 participants; in Washington, DC, some 125,000 people participated in a demonstration on the National Mall; in St. Louis, an estimated 10,000 people planted 10,000 trees on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the day, speeches were given by Hayes, Gaylord Nelson, Morris Udall, Barry Commoner, Bruce Babbitt, Senator Edward Muskie, and countless others. In a prime-time national television program called The Earth Day Special, aired by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Bette Midler played an abused Mother Earth who collapsed as a result of global warming, deforestation, and toxic poisoning. Although the events of the day were almost uniformly peaceful, eco-guerrilla groups attracted headlines by destroying oil-exploration gear and pouring sand in the fuel tanks of logging machinery.

At a time of controversy over issues such as protection of the northern spotted owl, President George H. W. Bush and his administration appeared distrustful of Earth Day 1990. However, President Bush, who had earlier referred to himself as “the environmental president,” addressed several crowds via a telephone hookup. Although speakers at Earth Day events often criticized the Bush administration’s policies, they tended to spend more time attacking the earlier policies of former president Ronald Reagan. In comparison with those of twenty years before, the speeches of Earth Day 1990 were more somber and realistic, as it had become clear that environmental problems would not be quickly solved in a painless manner.

Earth Day 1990 was truly a global festival. In Brazil, a concert by Paul McCartney paid special attention to the environment. In West Germany, Green organizations sponsored the ceremonial planting of trees. Thailand’s top rock band, the Carabano, held a concert with the theme “We Love the Forest.” In Hong Kong, a day-long educational entertainment featured singers, mimes, and exhibits of “green” consumer goods. Other activities included a roadway “lie-down” by five thousand protesters against car fumes in Italy, an 800-kilometer (500-mile) human chain across France, a trash-cleanup campaign on Mount Everest in Nepal, and a “flyby” of three thousand kites made by school children in Tours, France.

By 1990, it appeared clear that yearly celebrations of Earth Day had become a mainstream institution. The day’s silver anniversary in 1995 attracted considerable interest, but organizers decided to concentrate greater efforts on the thirtieth anniversary in the year 2000. With the help of internet organization, some five thousand environmental groups working in 184 countries around the world joined together to celebrate Earth Day 2000.

On Earth Day 2010, the environmental community faced challenges from climate change deniers and oil lobbyists. Despite that, Earth Day remained a global call for action and engaged more than one billion people. On April 22, 2020, the Earth Day Network hosted an assortment of digital Earth Day events across the globe to celebrate Earth Day's fiftieth anniversary. The theme of the day was climate action and the conversation of the day revolved around the Earth Day Network launching a set of environmentalism goals, as well as numerous countries increasing their commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement by the end of the year. Due to social distancing recommendations because of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, many of Earth Day's typical demonstrations and gatherings were moved to digital platforms.

As governments, private institutions, and ordinary people continued to observe Earth Day around the world during the 2020s, organizations involved in commemorating the holiday also used Earth Day as an opportunity to highlight other issues related to environmentalism. For example, Earthday.org, which was initially founded as the Earth Day Network and was responsible for overseeing global Earth Day events as well as other forms of environmental organizing, designated the theme of Earth Day 2024 as "Planet vs. Plastics." As part of this campaign, Earthday.org called for greater awareness of the possible health risks associated with plastic pollution and microplastics, and argued in favor of a 60 percent reduction in global plastic production by 2040.

Impact of Earth Day

The 1970 celebration of Earth Day tended to be a predominantly White, middle-class affair. Many African Americans activists were suspicious that the day would detract from issues of racial and economic justice. Although such views did not completely disappear, they tended to decline with time. In 1969, polls indicated that only 33 percent of African Americans wanted the government to pay more attention to environmental issues; by 1976, approximately 58 percent of African Americans expressed the same viewpoint. By the time of Earth Day 1990, African American leaders had more evidence that tends to be especially severe in areas where poor and marginalized people live, and thus they were able to use the day to publicize the issue of environmental racism.

Although celebrations of Earth Day are primarily important as a reflection of public opinion at a particular time, there is evidence that such celebrations have some impact on public attitudes and that they can solidify the commitment of environmental organizations. In a 1965 Gallup Poll, only 17 percent of the responding Americans said they considered the reduction of air and to be one of the most pressing problems demanding governmental action. Immediately after Earth Day 1970, the figure was 53 percent, but by 1980, it had fallen to 24 percent. Ironically, the environmental policies of President Ronald Reagan appeared to encourage the popularity of Earth Day during the 1980s, and the success of Earth Day 1990 is partially explained by a survey of the time in which 80 percent of Americans said they would support more strenuous environmental efforts, regardless of costs.

Since the first Earth Day, the event has evolved into a global movement spearheaded by the organization Earthday.org. In 2023, one billion individuals and 150,000 partners working across 192 countries aimed to accomplish positive change for the planet. A Climate Literacy Campaign, the National Education Program, and the Educator's Network are only a sampling of the environmental education programs created between 2010 and 2020 by Earthday to improve the future of the planet. With staff in over forty countries in 2020, conservation efforts hosted by Earthday include the Canopy Project, which planted hundreds of millions of trees in 32 countries by 2023, and the Great Global Cleanup, which aims to reduce plastic pollution globally. Additionally, Earthday.org contributes to research and science concerning climate change and environmental impacts.

Without doubt, there are always faddish, trendy elements in the celebrations and speeches of Earth Day. At times, the rhetoric seems rather excessive, and environmentalists are often quick to raise concerns when some of the nation’s worst polluters attempt to exploit the day, to use at events as a form of commercial advertising. The important point, however, is that Earth Day promotes education and reflection about serious problems that are experienced by people in their daily lives.

Bibliography

Dunlap, Riley E., and Angela G. Mertig, eds. American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970–1990. Taylor & Francis, 1992.

"Earth Day 2020." EarthDay.org, 2020, www.earthday.org/earth-day-2020/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

"Earth Day 50th Anniversary." EarthDay.org, 2020, www.earthday.org/earth-day-50th-anniversary. Accessed 12 May 2020.

"EPA History: Earth Day." Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Jul. 2024, www.epa.gov/history/epa-history-earth-day. Accessed 16 Jul. 2024.

Gottlieb, Robert. “The Sixties Rebellion: The Search for a New Politics.” In Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement. Rev. ed. Island Press, 2005.

National Staff of Environmental Action. Earth Day: The Beginning—A Guide for Survival. Bantam Books, 1970.

"Planet vs. Plastics: Global Theme for Earth Day 2024." Earthday.org, 2024, www.earthday.org/planet-vs-plastics/. Accessed 16 Jul. 2024.

Scheffer, Victor. “The Shaping of Environmentalism in America.” Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, vol. 13, no. 4, 1992, pp. 244–245. doi.org/10.1086/356354. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Shabecoff, Philip. A Fierce Green Fire: The American Environmental Movement. Rev. ed. Island Press, 2003.