Origin of Earth Day activities
In 1969, US Democratic Senator Gaylord Nielsen held a speech at various universities in the United States, planning to organize a campus movement against the Vietnam War on April 22 of the following year, but at the preparatory meeting held in Seattle in 1969, the event One of the organizers, Harvard Law School student Dennis Hayes proposed to position the movement in the United States, the grassroots movement with the theme of environmental protection.
In 1969, Gaylord Nielsen proposed to hold a lecture on environmental issues on campuses across the country. After hearing this suggestion, Hayes envisioned an environmental lecture in Cambridge. So he went to Washington, DC to meet with Nelson. The young Hayes talked about his own ideas. Nielsen was overjoyed and immediately expressed his willingness to use Hayes. He even encouraged him to temporarily suspend his studies and concentrate on environmental protection. Therefore, Hayes resolutely handled the suspension procedure. Soon, he expanded Nielsen's vision and launched a large-scale community-based activity in various parts of the United States.
He selected April 22, 1970 (Wednesday) as the first "Earth Day." On April 22 of that year, about 20 million people from all over the United States participated in demonstrations and lectures.
The 1970s in the United States was an eventful fall, and fiber optic fabrics were invented. The tragedy of "Apollo 13" led to the failure of the moon landing program, a leak at a nuclear plant near the Savannah River in South Carolina, the Americans at the time. Breathing the lead gas of a luxury car all day long. The factory unscrupulously emits smoke and sewage, but never fears that it will be prosecuted or condemned by public opinion. “Environmentalists” are rare, they are just words in the dictionary, but they are rarely valued. It is in this context that the first "Earth Day" has achieved great success. In view of the public's concern for environmental protection, the US Congress adjourned on the "Earth Day" day, and nearly 40 Senate members spoke at local gatherings. American celebrities such as Lent Dubes, Paul Ehrlich, and Ralph Nader gave speeches to clarify the significance of the rally. 250,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, and 100,000 people marched to Fifth Avenue in New York City to support the event.
According to statistics, there were more than 20 million people, 10,000 primary and secondary schools, 2,000 colleges and universities, 2,000 communities and major groups participating in the "Earth Day" event. People hold rallies, parades and other forms of publicity campaigns, holding up contaminated earth models, huge paintings and charts, shouting slogans and asking the government to take measures to protect the environment. The first "Earth Day" event in 1970 was one of the symbols of the birth of the modern American environmental movement, and ultimately promoted the establishment of the US Environmental Agency and the formation of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Act.