Did you know that Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. The idea of Earth Day evolved over seven years, starting in 1963. This important day was initiated by former Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin. In 1963, Nelson began to worry about our planet and believed that there needed to be a day that we look at the environment we live in and realize how every individual affects the environment. The goal of this day was to attract worldwide attention to the growing needs of environmental issues. He modeled Earth Day on anti-Vietnam War demonstrations called "teach-ins" that were taking place on college campuses. At that time President John F. Kennedy was persuaded to give visibility to the issue, so he set out to speak about the environment around the country on his five-day, 11 state conservation tour. More than 20 million people Nationwide participated in the first Earth Day. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the US. Environmental Protection Agency. Since then, Earth day has been celebrated once a year. But remember that every day is earth day, so think about environmental issues and do your best to keep earth clean.
