A History of Earth Day
Sierra Aston, April 18th 2024
Every year on April 22nd we celebrate Earth Day. A day to come together and recognize all the Earth gives us, but it’s also a day to take a stand against climate change and environmental degradation. Earth Day started over 50 years ago and has become one of the largest secular days of protest (Earth Day, n.d.). So how did this worldwide 50-year-old protest begin?
In 1962 Rachel Carson published her first book Silent Spring which exposed the links between pollution and human health increasing public awareness of humans’ impact on the environment (Earth Day, n.d.). Carson and her book Silent Spring are viewed as instrumental in initiating the modern-day environmental movement which would eventually bring us the first Earth Day.
In 1969, A few years after Carson published her book, American Senator Nelson teamed up with activist Denis Hayes to plan what would become the first Earth Day. Their work started as teach-ins at college campuses, but after its success, Hayes focused his attention on turning Earth Day into a national campaign and in 1970 organized the first Earth Day as we know it today (Earth Day, n.d.).
After the success of the first Earth Day, the campaign continued to grow in reach and popularity throughout the 80’s. Earth Day and the modern-day environmental movement helped spur major environmental actions and policies such as banning the use of DDT and developing an endangered species list (Earth Day, n.d.). In the 90’s, Hayes continued his work with others to make Earth Day global and successfully brought the campaign to over 140 countries mobilizing 200 million people around the world (Earth Day, n.d.).
By the 2000s, Earth Day’s focus shifted to major issues like climate change and pushing for clean energy solutions (Earth Day, n.d.). Fast forward to 2010, and Earth Day reached a billion people worldwide through a multitude of events. 2020 was the 50th anniversary of Earth Day which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, turning many events digital. Despite the challenges, it turned into one of the largest online mobilizations in history (Earth Day, n.d.).
Earth Day is only part of the modern-day environmental movement but it is seen as helping make way for the United Nations 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Day Summit. And, in 2016 when 175 nations signed the Paris Accord they chose to do so on Earth Day signifying the internationally recognized importance of this day (Earth Day, n.d.).
While Earth Day has brought many to the forefront of environmental advocacy, others have historically been sidelined. Indigenous Peoples are critical in the environmental movement and are often at the frontline of the environmental crisis. Indigenous lands make up 20% of Earth’s territory while containing 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity representing extraordinary ecological importance (International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d.). Despite this, policies and negotiations often do not move beyond tokenist participation of Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Peoples continue to face discrimination and marginalisation.
Today, there are many ways to celebrate Earth Day from community clean-ups to rallies to simply going outside and enjoying nature. However, if you choose to celebrate Earth Day this year now you will do so with a better understanding of how it came to be and those who have worked to protect our planet.
References
Earth Day. (n.d.). Our history. Retrieved April 18, 2024 from https://www.earthday.org/history/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrIixBhBbEiwACEqDJdIhiCSDF8aydSGuVF0oBrHa4Ou9FOcTkTEmzx2BeZUe309z--YTfxoCDwsQAvD_BwE
International Institute for Sustainable Development. (n.d.). Indigenous Peoples: Defending an environment for all. Retrieved April 18, 2024 from https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/indigenous-peoples-defending-environment-all#:~:text=Indigenous%20lands%20make%20up%20around,effective%20stewards%20of%20the%20environment
