Today It's All About the Earth

Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22, but do you know why or how it came to be?

How’d It Start?

According to earthday.org, Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Nelson was a senator from Wisconsin and after seeing the devastation from an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, Nelson was inspired. He put together a staff that crossed political lines and organized events across the country on April 22, 1970.

How Has It Grown?

By 1990, Earth Day expanded beyond the United States with 141 countries raising environmental awareness for Earth Day. A decade later, more people were involved across 184 countries. Earth Day 2010 celebrated the 40th anniversary of the cause. Earth Day is now coordinated by the Earth Day Network.

Earth Day 2011

This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘A Billion Acts of Green,’ which “inspires and rewards simple individual acts and larger organizational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability,” according to Earth Day Network’s website. The organization’s goal is to one billion actions in advance of the Global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012. Pledge your own 'Act of Green.'

Some Easy Ways to Help

Not fully committed to all-out green living? There are plenty of ways to make a difference. Turn off the lights when you're not using them, shut off the water while you're brushing your teeth, recycle, sign up for paperless billing and banking; reuse, repurpose or donate things before choosing to throw them away, plant a tree, pick up litter. 

Earth Day Activities

The State of Connecticut has compiled a list of a variety of Earth Day happenings. Earth Day Network not only shares events in Connecticut, but those happening nationally and globally. 

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's statement on Earth Day

“The first Earth Day in 1970 began a global movement towards recognizing our responsibility to the environment and understanding our role in caring for our natural space. Through education, leadership in public policy, and good citizenship we are moving toward ecological sustainability and will be better prepared to hand future generations a cleaner, safer planet. Only a year ago, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico offered a stark reminder about just how fragile our ecosystem is, and how important its health is to the economy. Earth Day is a great opportunity to celebrate our planet—and reminds us to keep doing the work necessary to keep it strong.”