April 22, 2021, will mark 51 years of Earth Day. This is our motherland, which only gives us and takes nothing back from us. So it is our responsibility to save and protect our motherland.
Earth Day聽is an annual event celebrated on April 22, to demonstrate support for聽environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.
In 1969 at a聽UNESCO聽Conference in San Francisco,聽peace activist聽John McConnell聽proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the聽first day of spring聽in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature’s equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General聽U Thant聽at the United Nations. A month later a United States Senator聽Gaylord Nelson聽proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental聽teach-in聽on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist,聽Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event “Earth Day”. Denis and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. More than 20 million people poured out on the streets, and the first Earth Day remains the largest single day protest in human history. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles. Under the leadership of labor leader聽Walter Reuther, for example, the聽United Auto Workers聽was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day.聽According to Hayes, “Without the UAW, the first Earth Day would have likely flopped! Nelson was later awarded the聽Presidential Medal of Freedom聽award in recognition of his work.
Photo courtesy of Aruba Flora & Fauna
