EARTH DAY, WEEK, MONTH, YEAR...
April 2012
 It started in 1970. Born out of outrage over a California oil spill, and an increasing activism
created by opposition to the Vietnam war, Earth Day was an idea whose time had come. A US
Senator and a veteran environmental activist were prime movers. Public events were promoted
across the US and 20 million Americans participated.
This first Earth Day is generally credited with spurring the passage of watershed (pun intended)
environmental legislation. Laws and policies regarding pollution, clean air and water, recycling
and endangered species protection were all created and nurtured by the kind of bipartisan coalition
that is no longer a feature of the US Congress. The Environmental Protection Agency was born out
of Earth Day. There was endless rhetoric to the effect that "environmentalism" was now a
mainstream American movement. Teach-ins were held around the country and countless young people
were sensitized and energized. Environmental organizations of long-standing, such as the Sierra
Club, were happy to greet a eneration of new members. Legions of new organizations, many local
and mainstream, others on the far-out fringes, were created and became a force in their communities.
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