Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world each year on 22 April to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries. 

On 22 April 1970, twenty million Americans, approximately 10% of the U.S. population at the time, took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental neglect and demand a new way forward for our planet.  The brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin and inspired by the protests of the 1960s, Earth Day began as a “national teach-in” on the environment. By raising public awareness about pollution, Nelson hoped to bring environmental causes into the national spotlight. The first Earth Day was effective at raising awareness about environmental issues and transforming public attitudes. During the 1970s, a number of important pieces of environmental legislation were passed, including the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Another key development was the December 1970 establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, which was tasked with protecting human health and safeguarding the natural environment—air, water and land.

Let us all consider ways to be good stewards of God’s amazing creation.