Evolution of Earth Day from grassroots activism to international event

WEB DESK: The Earth Day is a global event dedicated to promoting environmental protection. The event is celebrated annually on April 22 very year.

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The day started as a grassroots movement and was borne from the efforts of peace activist John McConnell. McConnel proposed the idea at a conference in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1969.

The event was initially scheduled for March 21 in 1970 to coincide with the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. However, it was later sanctioned by the then Secretary General of the UN and a US Senator who proposed a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. A young activist managed to expand the event to include over 20 million participants.

The first Earth Day primarily took place in the United States (US). However, the day went global in 1990 when the event was organised in more than 140 countries. Each year on Earth Day over 1 billion people participate from more than 193 countries.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the oil spill, Environmental Rights Day was established on January 28 in 1970 and was accompanied by the reading of the “Declaration of Environmental Rights. The declaration later laid the groundwork for environmental policy reforms.

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This year marks the 54th anniversary to of Earth Day. The official theme of the movement is “Planet vs Plastics”.