What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is a modern environmental movement that Gaylord Nelson initiated in 1970 after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. On April 22nd 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Earth Day in 1970 received the attention and support from Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, city slickers, farmers, tycoons, and labor leaders. At the end of that year the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air, Clear Water, and Endangered Species Acts were created.