First Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and Environmental Teach-in, featuring original national coordinator Denis Hayes.
First Earth Day
By the early 1960s Americans were becoming aware of the effects of pollution on the environment. Rachel Carson’s 1962 bestseller “Silent Spring” raised the specter of the dangerous effects of pestisides on America’s countrysides. Later in the decade, a 1969 fire on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River shed light on the problem of chemical waste disposal. Until that time, protecting the planet’s natural resources was not part of the national political agenda, and the number of activists devoted to large-scale issues such as industrial pollution was minimal. Factories pumped pollutants into the air, lakes and rivers with few legal consequences. Big, gas-guzzling cars were considered a sign of prosperity. Only a small portion of the American population was familiar with–let alone practiced–recycling.
To many, April 22, 1970, marks the beginning of the modern environmental movement. The first Earth Day celebration brought somewhere around 20 million Americans together to demonstrate against environmental degradation. Protests had been going on for quite some time, sure, but this first Earth Day was what brought activists together, whether their cause was the fight against air pollution, factories, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways or the loss of wilderness.