Earth Day Tribute #3: History of Earth Day

Earth Day eve 2009: An environmental writer, an interpretive ranger, and a sustainability planner sat around the kitchen table and realized none of us knew how, where, and how Earth Day got started. Found the following from The Wilderness Society - let me know if you find other information.

The seeds of Earth Day were planted in 1962 when Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin had this idea for Pres. JFK to go on a national wilderness tour. So JFK did in 1963 but it didn't get as much limelight as he'd hoped (anyone knows why?).

Summer of 1969, Nelson was on a conservation speaking tour and had an idea to tap into the energies of student-led protests, rallies and teach-ins around the Vietnam War and channel them into the environmental cause. He announced that in the Spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide environmental teach-in about the problems the world faced with its water, land, air, forests, oceans, etc. With the rising awareness over environmental concerns, this idea caught on like wildfire. Supposedly 20 million people participated in that first Earth Day in 1970.

I can only imagine the energy at that time. I imagine it was something like what happened the night Obama got elected. Grassroots. Walking around Berkeley and the Bay Area, I look around and see the ghosts of the 1970 nationwide grassroots efforts. If anyone have stories at that time, I'd love to hear them.

What's your first Earth Day memory?

-- Earth Day Tribute #2 --

It all started with colleagues at The Watershed Project, a watershed education nonprofit that I've been involved with, sharing stories of our first Earth Day memories. Complete the following sentence: "My first Earth Day memory is...." If you wish it would be great to mention (1) in what year and (2) place where it happened. I wonder if there is an evolution to the messages we're hearing on Earth Day from its first occurence.

My first Earth Day memory is from 1992. My primary school in Singapore held a team drawing contest and my team's won. The theme was global warming and the drawing was of a big round earth with and ice pack on its head and a thermometer sticking out of its mouth.
--Jane

My first Earth Day memory is from elementary school in 1972 -- the third Earth Day -- and the teachers enjoined we kids to decide what to do. We decided to climb a hill and hold a rally for Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, who was running for president against Richard Nixon. I went to a pretty cool elementary school. We didn't plant any trees, but we did build a pond. That's how I know so much about how leaky a pond built by kids can be.
--Guy

I used to look forward to Earth Day almost as much as any other holiday when I was in elementary school because I knew we'd get to plant a tree and spend the whole day outside!
--Jan