Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22 by more than a billion people around the world, marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement. For that first Earth Day in 1970, back in the days of student anti-war protests and growing public awareness of environmental degradation, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin came up with the idea of organizing student teach-ins to raise consciousness about air and water pollution. Thousands of colleges and universities responded with organized protests against the deteriorating environment.
The impact of that first Earth Day is almost unbelievable. By the end of 1970 it led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as environmental laws such as the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Soon after, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act were enacted.
Over the subsequent decades Earth Day has gone global and has been re-energized by Earthday.Org, which works to involve people around the world in the environmental movement. The key initiatives of Earthday.Org are climate literacy, reduction of plastics, planting trees, voting for environmental protections, cleaning-up globally and making fashion sustainable.
You can participate in Earth Day 2023! Plant trees or a pollinator garden using native plants to support butterflies, bees and other needed organisms. Reduce your plastic consumption. Participate in advocacy—speak up and vote. Make
sustainable fashion choices. Plan your own Earth Day event.
“Every aspect of our lives is, in a sense, a vote for the kind of world we want to live in.” (Frances Moore Lappe)
The Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy protects land for the environment, for habitat, forever. To learn more about their mission, please visit sigsc.net.
-Submitted by the Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy