On April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator, founded the first Earth Day in an attempt to bring about a better understanding of the affect we have on our planet, and calling us to take action to make positive environmental changes in our community. The first Earth Day was attended by 20 million Americans nationwide, from college campuses to town halls, and giant teach-ins were organized in New York City and Philadelphia, the latter event turning into a seven-day event known as Earth Week.
This small attempt to start something of this scale on the national level brought millions of people to band together in their neighborhoods, starting grassroots campaigns to help revolutionize the way we handled waste, recycling, power consumption, and conservation in general. That event set a powerful precedent for the rest of the world, eventually inspiring more than 140 nations all around the globe to have their own Earth Days.
By the year 1990, over 200 million people on Earth were participating in the event, making it one of the most-attended organizational activities ever created, even being called “the largest secular holiday in the world” by the Earth Day Network, the nonprofit organization that is in charge of the event on an annual basis since its inception in 1990.
Starbucks is celebrating Earth Day with a free cup of coffee!!
Here is a link for activities to do with your kids!!