Earth Day. 4.22.12
On April 22, more than one billion people
around the globe will participate in Earth Day 2012 and help Mobilize
the Earth™. People of all nationalities and backgrounds will voice their
appreciation for the planet and demand its protection. Together we will
stand united for a sustainable future and call upon individuals,
organizations, and governments to do their part.
Attend a local Earth Day event and join one of our Earth Day
campaigns as we collect A Billion Acts of Green® and elevate the
importance of environmental issues around the world.
Earth Day: The History of A Movement
Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what
many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.
The
height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970
brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon
& Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Protest was the order of
the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam,
and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.
At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8
sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal
consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the
smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often
in spelling bees than on the evening news. Although mainstream America
remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for
change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller
Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment for the
modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24
countries and, up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms.
Carson raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the
environment and public health.
Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling
the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental
concerns front and center.
http://www.earthday.org/
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